Operation: REBOUND
by Numbuh Phenon
Summary: Months after his breakup with Lizzie, Nigel finds himself strangely thinking about his Supreme Leader at the most inconvenient times. Confused, he decides to avoid her all together to sort out his feelings. Too bad fate has other plans.
1. Begin Transmission

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Codename KND.

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**Accessing K.N.D Global Mission Archive**

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…**Access Approved. Please Standby.**

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**Operation R.E.B.O.U.N.D. has been selected. Please confirm.... Confirmation Approved.**

**Now loading:**

**kids next door mission**

**operation:**

**r.e.b.o.u.n.d.**

**Romantic **

**Emotions**

**Become**

**Operative**

**Uno's**

**Nightmare**

**Dramatically**

**Initiating Transmission. Please Standby.... **


	2. Should Have Paid Attention

Gallagher Elementary. A place were young minds can roam and prepare themselves for the oncoming trails of junior high. It was an institute for learning while at the same time a kid could enjoy the simple things. Like the wonders of kindergarten nap time, the playful secrets of the jungle gym, a healthy and appealing menu, or better yet, the fabled overnight Third grade field trip to the zoo across the state. Yes sir, Gallagher was an all American school that set the standard that school can be fun and educational.

… And if you fall for that ruse, then your IQ is at a level that would make Wallabee Beetles look like an algebra prodigy. Under the misguiding illusion, Gallagher is nothing more than a breeding ground of pure academic _evil_. Let no one tell you otherwise.

For example.

"I want my mommy!" Cried out a brown pigtailed kindergartner. The poor girl along with the rest of her class were strapped down in numerous chairs within the library. They all sat struggling against their bindings, hoping for some miracle.

"SILENCE!" A man proclaimed as he slammed down a textbook to amplify his point. The tall skinny librarian adjusted his yellow visor glasses before he spoke again. "I will not tolerate such insolence. For I, the Terrible Tutor, shall stimulate your minds properly. OR ELSE!" With his rant done, he cleared his throat before hefting up a colossal sized encyclopedia. "Now, we shall begin exploring the phases of photo-"

"Hey!" The class' teacher butted in. Apparently the woman had been tied up as well. "You're just the substitute librarian, you can't teach students!"

"First of all, DO NOT INTERRUPT MY LESSON!" The villain raged with fire in his eyes. "And secondly, this is MY library-"

"Substitute!"

"-FOR TODAY! So that means I can do whatever I please, so nah!" His tongue flicked out of his mouth in a childlike manner before he turned away. "Besides, you are unfit to teach these brats."

"Unfit!" The teacher screamed out, rattling the entire room. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing! Where do you get off!"

"According to my schedule, you had originally brought them here for class reading of 'Green Eggs and Ham'." He droned out disgusted. "Its nonsense, complete rubbish! Full of childlike wonder, a disgrace to english literature!"

"They're in _kindergarten_ moron! What else are they supposed to read!"

"ENOUGH!" The Tutor proclaimed as he shot a textbook from his sleeve. It flew through the air and made a large hole in the wall right next to the woman's head, shutting her up effectively.

"I will not stand for this! As a member of the Parent Teacher Organization of Eradicating Youngsters, it is my duty to mold these pathetic snot-nosed whiners into intellectual, obedient, nerdy teacher's pets of adult society. So either you let me do my job, or I'll assimilate so much knowledge into your undeveloped brain your head will EXPLODE!" He threatened shaking his fist in the air.

After calming down, the Tutor scanned the room to find that all was quiet. The children were quivering in fear and their teacher had chosen _not_ to have her head implode. He allowed himself a satisfied smirk as he straightened his tie. "Good. Now back to, uh... darn it. See what you've done? I've forgotten my lesson plan!" The crazy man reached into his sleeves and pulled out a sheet of paper and narrowed his eyes to see where he left off. "Now where was I?"

"I believe we were at the part where we kick your butt back to the teacher's lounge."

"No, no, that comes after Civics and-...Wait, WHAT!" The blue suited adult turned to the source of the voice, and there at the entrance of the room, wearing their trademark shades, ball cap, and goggles respectively, were Numbuhs 1, 2, and 5 of Sector V. The villain's gaze was transfixed on the three operatives. "Kids Next Door! What are you hooligans doing here!"

"Other than the fact that we go to this school?"

"Or that our class is right down the hall?"

"Or that Numbuh 5 could hear ya all the way from the cafeteria?" The dark skinned girl groaned as she shook her head. "Man, the way you been screamin', the whole school's gon' be gettin' earplugs."

The tutor clenched his fist at her insult. "You miserable little cretins!" His hands sprung out and he waved them back and forth, the books flying off the shelves and gathering around him. "Allow me to teach you what happens to brats who INTERRUPT MY LESSON!" He then shot forth a barrage of books towards the group aiming to bury them.

The three crouched down as the hardbacks rushed at them. "SCATTER!" Numbuh 1 rang out. As the order left his lips they all jumped in separate directions, the tutor's books missing them. The mad teacher went on a frenzy trying to hit the kids. They leaped from shelf to shelf dodging everything that came their way, parts of the library getting destroyed in the crossfire.

Nigel landed behind the tutor and reared up in an attempt to strike him, but the man turned just in time to catch sight of the boy. His response was to fire off another wave of texts, causing Nigel to change his course. He rolled to the side to avoid the blast, but upon seeing the tutor prepare another volley, he kicked up a nearby table and used it as a makeshift shield. Nigel leaned against the wood as it was battered by seemingly endless books. Using the moment to take assess the situation, he looked about the room to take in everything. That was when he noticed the hostages nearly getting hit by stray albums. "Numbuh 5, get these people out of here ASA-NOW!"

"Already workin' on it baby!" The girl yelled out over the sound of pages flying. She ran straight ahead and ducked as a book whizzed by. She then hopped over the captured teacher and began untying her. "Hiya Ms. Poppins."

"Shouldn't you be in class Abigail?" The woman asked a bit sternly as her bindings came loose.

"Uh, heh, heh- WAH!" Another textbook embedded itself in the floor an inch away from the girl's foot causing her to jump. She then tackled Ms. Poppins to the ground as a burst of Biology editions soared over their heads. "Uh, Numbuh 2! Numbuh 5 could use some cover!"

"On it!" The boy in question suddenly appeared on top of a nearby bookshelf. He reached into his backpack and pulled out twin G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.'s, twirling them around before aiming at the tutor. His eyes glinted deviously behind his goggles. "Eat gumball, bookworm!"

The tutor glanced over his shoulders to see massive amounts of the chewy treats aimed at his rear, he managed to slide to the left to avoid critical damage, but some managed to graze his suit. "AHH!" He yelled in horror as it stuck to his clothing. "This will never come out! You'll pay for this!" He raged as he concentrated on the plump operative.

As the fire drew away from him, Nigel made his move. Clicking his heels together, his jet boots blazed to life as he was lifted into the air. He smirked as he equipped his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. and rushed towards the distracted tutor. "Time to- WHOA!" He blurted out as he barely missed oncoming textbooks followed by flying gum wads. Frustrated, he glared down and was about to tell off Hoagie when he noticed a commotion. The tutor's ammunition collided violently with a bookshelf. The aforementioned shelf rocked and tumbled and was about to come crashing down.

Right on top of a still tied down girl.

Forgetting the tutor for a moment, Nigel zoomed down to reach the screaming child before she was crushed and flattened. When the girl was enveloped in the shelf's shadow, he kicked in his afterburners to race towards her at breakneck speeds. Just as the shelf almost made contact, Nigel swooped in and grabbed the girl while the shelf barreled into the foundation.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" The young one cried in relief as Nigel undid the rope holding her down.

Nigel only crossed his arms and let off a one of his cocky smirks. "No need to thank me. Keeping kids safe is always my top priority." He then wobbled as the girl crashed into him giving him a hug to show her gratitude. "H-Hey!"

"Thank you so much mister!" All Nigel could do was chuckle nervously as he awkwardly patted her head. He then gazed down at the girl to try and pry her off of him when he noticed something. She had blonde hair.

_'Blonde hair.'_ He thought bemusedly to himself. _'Sorta looks like Rachel's-'_ His eyes widened behind his sunglasses as he realized where his train of thought was going. _'N-NO! Not this again!'_

Back with the struggle, Numbuh 2 was gaining the advantage. "Aw, where ya goin' teach?" The boy taunted as he fired yet again at the retreating man. "Why dontcha' 'stick' around?" He laughed out loud. "Get it? Cause I'm like, shooting gumballs at you and-"

"Ugh, your puns are absolutely terrible!" The tutor screeched as he got back into a standing position.

Hoagie glared as he aimed for the man's foot. "Look who's talking, _Terrible _Tutor!" The gumball made a direct hit and the tutor was stuck to the ground. The boy twirled his weapon once more as he blew off his knuckles. He then rose it back up to finish off the villain as he tried to get his feet off the floor. "Looks like the tutor just got scho-"

_Click Click_

"Huh?" Surprised, he glanced down to see that he was out of ammo. Prefect. "Aww man!" He whined as he threw the empty weapon to the ground. "I had this awesome line and every- EPP!" He scurried out of the way as the tutor fired from his position.

"You rotten Kids Next Door!" He snarled out as he tried to get away. His struggles halted once he looked over to find that Numbuh 1 was just standing there, having some sort of inner conflict, unknowingly right in range. Defenseless. The tutor evilly crackled as he rose up his arm for his strongest attack. "Let's see how you enjoy my First Edition Evil Encyclopedia Number One!" A giant encyclopedia emerged from his sleeve, it crashed through the room on a direct course for the preoccupied Nigel.

Abby was in the middle to freeing the last hostage when she heard the tutor call out his attack. Her head jerked up, her hat almost flying off, to see the most gigantic book flying straight for her leader. And he was just standing there like he didn't notice it! Her eyes were wide as she watched on. "NUMBUH 1!"

Nigel was standing fuming with himself over situation.

_'Why am I thinking about her again!'_ He grumpily contemplated. _'S-She's my Supreme Leader and stuff and...Agrhh! Stop it! Its nothing worth fretting over, she's just a friend. A friend who has nice hair and- Oh look at yourself Nigel! Here you are arguing about this stupid thing again when you should be focusing on..the...mission....'_

"NUMBUH 1!"

Crud.

Nigel snapped up to see the encyclopedia aimed right for him. It was way too close to dodge! He looked down at the girl who was still clinging to him and pushed her out of the way before the book hit him a few seconds later. It slammed into him and kept going until it crashed into the wall. Taking him down with it.

Hoagie was in shock at just what happened to his friend. "NIGEL!" He yelled out in horror. His attention was then drawn to the Terrible Tutor who was beside himself with laughter.

"Ah ha ha ha ha! O-oh, my, ha ha ha! It seems some_one_ should've been paying attention! AH HA HA HA!" He continued to chortle as he wiped a tear away.

Hoagie's expression continued to get worse with each new chuckle. No one messes with his buds and gets away with it! He angrily scanned the room, searching for anything to use to get back at the villain. He then noticed that the tutor was still stuck to the floor. And that a large, _heavy_ looking bookshelf was right behind him.

The grin that appeared on his face would put the Grinch's to shame.

The tutor was starting to come down from his mirthful high and get his wits about him. "He he he. So much for the infamous Numbuh One." He then readied his sleeves as he looked about the room for his other foes. "Now where is the fat one?"

"Hey Terrible T!" The man stood stiff and looked behind his form to see Numbuh 2 running right towards the bookshelf. "Time for you to check out!" He roared as he slammed into the shelf with all his might.

The towering shelf slowly creeped towards a horrified tutor. "No No NOOO!" He freaked out as he tried to get his feet out of the sticky gum. No use. He put his hands over his heads and cried. "Done in by LITERATURE!" Finally it tumbled down with a quake that could shake all of Gallagher. As the dust cleared, all that was left was a pile of books, debris, and a groaning tutor.

Hoagie stood back pumping his fist in the air at his cool victory. "YES! That was awesome! 'Cause I came in and was all like, 'HAAA' and he was like, 'EIIEE', and I said 'time to check out' because we're in a library, so-"

_TWACK!_

"Ow!" He yelped. He then turned to glare at Abby who had just knocked him upside his skull. "What was that for!"

"We ain't got time for yo' lame lines fool! Numbuh 1's hurt!" She vented as she rushed to their fallen alley. Hoagie just stood there confused for a moment before it all came rushing back to him. He then picked up the pace and followed his comrade to assist.

The two dug relentlessly through the ruble, tossing aside everything obscuring their path. Finally after what seemed like hours, Abby caught a glimpse of a familiar red sleeve. "Numbuh 1!" Working in unison with Hoagie, they managed to pry him loose from whatever was holding him down. Once out, they sat him against the wall and took in his appearance. His turtle neck sweater was ruffled, his sunglasses twisted around his head, and bruises heavily apparent. Abby only shook her head as she tried to get the kid to wake up. "Numbuh 1, Numbuh 1 wake up!" She yelled as she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"I's wans some rainboo moonchies in a panycake box.." The operative slurred out, clearly out of it.

Abby just sighed as she took off her hat. "Snap out of it boss." She groaned as she delivered a sharp tap to his bald noggin. It had the desired effect as he reared back up.

"OW!" Nigel winced as he rubbed his forehead, already feeling another bruise coming on. "Numbuh 5! What was that for?"

"You're welcome."

Nigel just glared at the girl as he adjusted his shades. "Whatever, where's the tutor?" Hoagie's response was to point over his shoulder. Nigel glanced over to find the mad substitute was buried under piles of reading material, his reign of boring lectures at an end. The bald boy coughed into his hand before he spoke again. "Good work team. Now let's call a prison transport to-" His order was interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell system over head, signaling the start of the next class. "Oh just great. Come on before we're late for- HEY!"

"You ain't going nowhere until the nurse checks you out." Abby stated as she dragged the fussy boy away. "Now let's go, Numbuh 5 ain't got all day."

"Numbuh 5 s-stop! I'm fine, I don't need to- OW! No pushing!"

Hoagie stared blankly at his retreating friends. He was about to go after them when he noticed a rather appealing book on the ground. "Hey, the Confessions of a Middle School Aviator!"

"NUMBUH 2!"

"Coming!"

* * *

After a impromptu trip to the nurse, Abby and Hoagie were cruising down the halls with a moody Nigel in tow.

"What a complete waste of time!" The boy whined with his hands in the air. "I've could've been filing my report during lunch, but _no_, I had to wait in the nurse's office for thirty minutes just to get a bloody rainbow monkey band-aid!" He roared as he ripped the thing off his head.

"Better be safe then sorry." Abby coolly replied. "The way you been acting lately, Numbuh 5 is startin' ta worry."

"Yeah Numbuh 1. You're usually all about the mission, getting on us if we mess up. But now its like you can't focus!" Hoagie added his two cents to the conversation. "That's so not like you!"

"So I had an off day-"

"More like off _days_!"

"Its not that bad guys!"

Abby shook her head. "Numbuh 1, last week you almost lost to the Toiletnator."

"W-Well he was-"

"The _Toiletnator_!"

"Alright I get it!" He finally yelled out, after which he sighed and rubbed his head. "Look guys, I've just had a lot on my mind lately, so sorry if I miss some things." His pupils narrowed as he remembered something. "Speaking of things that are missing, where are Numbuhs 3 and 4? They can't just skip on a situation like this!"

"That's what Numbuh 5 is talkin' about!"

"What?"

"Numbuh 3 is out sick with the flu, and Numbuh 4 is visiting his family in Australia." She groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Numbuh 5 told you that before we left the treehouse!"

Nigel just gave a confused look. "No you didn't."

"Uh, yeah she did." Hoagie defended. "It was right after I gave you that message from Numbuh 362. Remember?"

"Eh... not really." Nigel muttered. At the mention of the Supreme Leader, he found himself walking a bit slower. Once again the girl flooded his thoughts, and the poor boy had no idea why.

The whole thing started a month or two ago. If he had to give an exact time, it would be a week or two after Lizzie. The whole affair had upset him, he cared greatly for the girl. While she had her faults, he could recall all the good times they had together, and the fact she was the one to call it off hurt. The fact she was right didn't make it any better. The Kids Next Door was his childhood, what he lived for. But it was unfair to drag Lizzie along for the ride. She deserved a boyfriend who would actually pay attention to her, not run off when some kid was being threaten by Spankulot. He decided it was best for both of them just to let her go.

But Lizzie's breakup still had him frustrated and it was starting to interfere with his work; something he would _not _stand for. He needed to talk to someone about his problems, felt the desire to vent. But for some reason, he couldn't see himself going to just anyone. Normally one of his friends would have been his first choice, but they weren't exactly _fond_ of Lizzie when she was around and wouldn't understand. And there was no way in heck he was going to his parents. He didn't care if his dad used to be the Numbuh Zero, there was just some embarrassment issues he would rather avoid.

So to his surprise he found himself traveling to the Moonbase to talk with Rachel. She was a good friend, and he remembered that she had told him to come to her if he ad any problems. He felt grateful when she took one of her rare breaks just to listen to him. She sat there patiently and hung off his every word, making comments every so often to cheer him up.

Soon though, the topic steered away from Lizzie and moved into pleasant conversation. They conversed about the going ons of their respected positions, some missions, and even made a few jokes. Nigel found that he greatly enjoyed the time he spent with her and after a few hours, they realized they weren't even talking about anything related to the KND.

Talking with Rachel really did help him cope. They got closer over a few weeks and he felt like a million pounds had been lifted from his shoulders. He thought less and less of his ex-girlfriend and found things returning to normal. Better than before. He felt great.

And that was when he began having _these_ thoughts about Rachel.

It was subtle at first, so much that he didn't pay it any mind. Then it just got weird. He caught himself staring at her for no reason, or had to hide his face because he was blushing when ever he got a little too close. He then started picking out her features. Like how her hair would just hang right below her shoulders, how her voice would hitch when she laughed, or when she was nervous, her foot would shift back and forth. It was cute.

And it was thoughts like _that_ that made him stop. He was starting to think of Rachel like he used to think of Lizzie! Even more so. It shocked him. Rachel was... well, Rachel! She was a close friend and his Supreme Leader for goodness sake! He shouldn't be thinking of her like that! He shouldn't be thinking of how her beautiful her smile looks or how adorable she is when she flips her hair and-

_'GAH!'_ It was insane. He had no clue where these feeling were coming from and it was driving him nuts! He couldn't even act right in font of Rachel anymore period! So a month ago he decided to avoid the girl. He couldn't act straight around her and needed to properly assess this like he did everything else before he _really_ made a fool of himself.

"Numbuh 1, you're doing it again." Abby's retort caused Nigel to frown. But apparently avoiding her wasn't all he had to worry about. For weeks now he found himself getting lost in thought whenever he sighted something that reminded him of Rachel. Blonde hair, orange clothing, even the cruddy letter R! It was exhausting.

Sighing, the sector leader folded his arms and frowned. "I appreciate your concern Numbuh 5, but rest assured I have everything under control."

"Uh huh, just like you _controlled_ the tutor?" The girl flicked her hat up to analyze her friend. "Something's gotta be eating ya Numbuh 1. What's got yo' brain in a fuzz?"

"Nothing! Its not like I'm thinking about-"

"Numbuh 362!" Hoagie loudly gasped.

Nigel jumped shaking his arms. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

Hoagie shook his head and pointed in front of them. Nigel and Abby turned to view the girl standing there. Her blonde hair and orange striped jacket gave her away immediately. It was Rachel McKenize, a.k.a Numbuh 362 Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door.

The girl walked to the three with a smile on her face. "Hi guys."

Nigel's sunglasses threatened to slip right off his face. "R-Rache- I-I mean Numbuh 362 sir! M'am!" What was she doing here!

Rachel only giggled. "Nice to see you too Nigel." She then turned to address the others before her. "How goes it?"

"Numbuh 5 could ask you the same thing." The girl responded with a friendly look of her own. "She didn't know you went to Gallagher."

"Well I do now." She sighed out as her eyes closed. "My family had an 'accident' at our last home forcing us to move here."

Hoagie was curious. "What happened?"

"Harvey." She groaned. "He snuck out some new experimental M.A.R.B.L.E.s from the moonbase-"

"Oh! The new cat eye editions with extra condiment blast radius? The science nerds were supposed to send me some models to- OW!" Hoagie's excited blabber stopped as soon as Abby slapped him again.

"-from the moonbase to show off to his sector. But they fell out of his pocket during dinner and blew off half of our house while the other half was coated in honey mustard."

"Mmm, honey mustard."

"Numbuh 2..."

"Sorry!"

Rachel only shook her head at the two's antics. "Anyway, my dad had an old friend here who suggested a house that was cheap and in good condition."

Nigel was taking all this in with his expression getting even more stressed out. "S-so what you're saying is, that you'll be living here? In our neighborhood? From now on?" That was not good.

Rachel rose an brow in confusion, her brown eyes twinkling in curiosity. "Yeah Nigel, I sent you a message about it this morning. Didn't you get it?"

His response was to rub the back of his head. "Uh, must have slipped my mind. Heh, heh."

Rachel glanced at the boy in front of her and frowned slightly. He was acting really weird lately. Not that she had seen much of him to say otherwise. The two had become close friends after his breakup with Lizzie and she was happy with that. She got to spend time with him and had a good time doing it. The fact she had a crush on him was beside the point and something he didn't need to know about.

But lately he had been ignoring her. Only talking to her when she had an assignment for him, and avoiding all trips to the moonbase. It hurt her that he acted like he had nothing to do with her. Well whatever was up with him she would get to the bottom of it.

"Uh huh." She uttered quietly. She then stepped closer to the boy. "Anyway Nigel, there's something I need to talk to you about, its important."

Her tone of voice caused an out of character wave of nervousness to rack his body. She wanted to talk to him. About what! Could she of found out about his thoughts? Did she have some new minder reader 2x4 tech that picked up on his brainwaves? That _had _to it! It was the only thing that made any rational sense! He had to get out of here.

While he was going over strategies to evade his supreme leader, another shrill siren filled the school sound waves causing all four of them to jump a few feet in the air. Nigel's eyes widened behind shades.

Saved by the bell!

"Oh would ya look at that!" He proclaimed glancing over his wristwatch. "I'm late for class!" He then began to quickly back off waving at Rachel nervously. "Sorry Rachel no time to chat, gotta go. We'll talk later? Great! Bye!" With that said he ran off into the nearby door without looking.

The three kids just stood there amazed. But not because of Nigel's behavior. Hoagie slowly rose up his hand and pointed at the pink door. "Uh,... did Numbuh 1 just go into the girl's bathroom?" Abby only slapped her head and mentally counted down.

Three...two...one.

"_AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!_" The scream was followed by a ruffled Nigel flying right out the door. He shot off like a bullet, landing right into the trashcan across the hall.

After a few tense seconds, a raging Fanny Fulbright stomped violently out of the restroom. With fire in her eyes, she stalked over to where Nigel was recovering. Feeling the shadow overcome him, he fearfully looked up to see Numbuh 86 snarling at him. He rose a hand up and shakingly waved at her. She growled and pounded him deeper into the garbage.

"YE' STOOPID BOY!" Her attack over, she huffed and continued her trek down the hall.

Rachel's eyes widened in concern when she heard the boy groan. "We'd better help him." She hastily replied as she went to help him out.

Hoagie blankly gazed at the scene before him. He scratched his hair under his helmet as he turned to Abby. "Man, what's up with Numbuh 1?"

Abby had her hand on her chin as she analyzed the two operatives near the trash. It all seemed to be coming together. How Nigel was so nervous around Rachel, how the blonde was worried about him whilst he was buried under yesterday's lunch special, or better yet how they both used each other's names rather than their codenumbuhs. The dark skinned girl only chuckled as she lifted up her backpack. "Ain't nothing wrong with 'im. He's just gotta pay more attention baby."

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**-Transmission Interrupted**

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**Points if ya can tell what Operation the Terrible Tutor was in.**

**Later.**


	3. Detention and House Guests

**Transmission Interrupted.... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.**

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"Dude, that was harsh." Hoagie commented to his pal as they walked down the street. "I can't believe Mr Jackson gave you after school detention."

Nigel gazed to the ground with a tired expression. "Don't remind me." He wasn't having a pleasant afternoon.

After it was a known fact that Numbuh 362 was going to his school, it all went downhill from there. He would most likely never live down the embarrassment of walking in the girl's bathroom, while Numbuh 86 was in there no less! And the smell of rotten fish tacos lingered around his presence all day long. He was going to need a million showers to get rid of the stench. But believe or not, all the taunts and jeers from his peers was only the icing on the cake. He had to deal with the source of all his problems. Rachel.

Now the girl would never intentionally cause him any stress, but the fact he was having conflicting feelings whenever he was within a certain range of her really made it hard to have a decent chat with her. Every time he was around her, all these weird sensations would pop up. The fluttering of his stomach, the way his heart would thump faster by a few paces, or the clammy feelings in his hands. It all pointed to one thing, but he just couldn't accept it.

He liked Rachel, he would admit that, but did he... _like-like_ her?

No. That was crazy talk. He didn't feel _that_ way about Rachel. He was just confused and having some troubling thoughts since he was spending more time with her lately. All he needed to do was get away from her, gather some distance and everything would be back to normal.

The saying, 'easier said then done' had never rung throughout Nigel's mind as vehemently as it did now.

Rachel had her mind set on talking to him, and to make matters worse, she seemed to be everywhere he was. During gym class she made several attempts to get close and he had to pull every trick in the book to ignore it without coming off as rude. Which somehow always ended with a dodgeball lodged into his skull. Ouch.

Science class was a fiasco. Their teacher (who he would swear up and down was a new villain. She couldn't fool him!) had conveniently decided to pair them up as lab partners. For a while, she only focused on the assignment and he assumed she forgot about it. But when they were close to finishing, she surprised him by starting up the conversation out of no where, which caused him to jump and spill the contents of the formula on the girl in the desk beside his. Which so happened to be Fanny. The following incident caused Nigel to shape his own KND legend, he had survived not one, but _two_ violent outbursts of Numbuh 86. In _one_ day!

But even with all that, nothing could compare to what happened during the final period of the day. It was his language arts class taught by Mr Jackson. The class began with the old coot introducing a new student who turned out to be, surprise surprise, Rachel. He would have never guessed. Was the whole cruddy universe against him?

Amazingly though, the universe had deemed him worthy of a reprieve. Rachel was seated in the back of the room while he was all the way in the front. To insure that the blonde couldn't speak to him, Mr Jackson had them all read the next few chapters of the class book and write summaries on it. With absolutely _no _talking. It was the only time Nigel was grateful for the slave driver's assignments.

But of course he wouldn't get off that easy...

* * *

… _Nigel's pencil scribbled furiously across the paper, working diligently to complete his task. This sort of thing was simple for him. All he was required to do was read the book and retell the key points in his own words. Just like filing a mission report, only more boring._

_Pausing to take a quick break, Nigel's eyes wandered up to the clock above the teacher's desk. It was two-thirty, only a little while longer and the school day was over. If he could just get out of here without running into Rachel and lock himself in his room once he got back to the treehouse, he was scott free! His expression dropped a bit guiltily. He was treating Rachel like she was some disease, like they were five years old and she had the cooties. He was shunning a caring friend just because he didn't want to ruin anything. She didn't deserve that. But it was for the best, he would make a dunce out of himself if he confessed his problems to her now._ _Besides, he planned on making it up to her once this had blown over._

'Maybe I can get her one of those citrus cheesecakes she likes.' _Nigel trailed off unknowingly. _'But it has to be grapefruit, she doesn't prefer lime-' _His eyes widened once he realized what he was thinking about. How come he knew her that well?_

"_Mr Jackson!" The voice belonging to the girl he was just thinking about floated into his hearing. He glanced behind him to see Rachel holding her hand up. "Can I go to the bathroom?"_

_The man lowered his newspaper, gracing the world with the sight of his crinkly liver spotted face. "_May_ you?" He droned out. Nigel wanted to roll his eyes at the man's kick with proper english._

_Apparently so did Rachel. "_May _I go to the bathroom."_

"_Have you finished your classwork?" At the blonde's nod, he grunted as he analyzed the clock. "You have three minutes."_

_When he heard the screeching of Rachel's chair, Nigel quickly ducked down back into his work. The girl was in his row and would have to walk by him as she left. Her footfalls echoed in his ears, and he could feel her coming closer. She was right on him and he felt about ready to keel over. But thankfully, she didn't stop or try and make any eye contact with him, but she did brush against him slightly, causing him to blush. But either she didn't notice or pay it any mind, for she walked right out the door while he berated himself for acting like some crushing schoolboy._

_Once he gathered himself, he looked back down to get back to work when he caught something out of the corner of his sunglasses. There on his shirt sleeve was a folded piece of paper. Confused, he slowly picked it up and just gazed at it. Glaring at it like it would fess up if he gave it the thousand yard stare. Where did it come from? It wasn't there before. It just appeared right after Rachel... He gulped. This was a note from Rachel! _

_Nigel began to sweat. Rachel wasn't the type of girl that passed notes in class. She was more serious about her schoolwork than Numbuh 5. If she did all that just to give him this then it had to be very important. But he wasn't sure he wanted to read it. What if it said that she knew about his feelings and didn't want to be friends anymore? Or what if it was some super secret high ranked mission where the whole fate of the KND rested on his shoulders? What a dilemma! _

_Steeling his nerves, Nigel began to undo the note to read it, but unfortunately, or fortunately depending on what was inside, Mr Jackson snatched the paper right out of his clutches. "Hey!"_

"_Mr Uno, I do not tolerate these childish antics in MY class!" The old man scolded as he ripped the note up, its message forever lost. Despite the situation, Nigel was kinda relieved he didn't read it out loud like some others would do. Saves him from the embarrassment. But any gratitude was gone when the man leered into his face. "Now who sent you this?"_

_Nigel narrowed his eyes and glared at the man. There was no way he was ratting out Rachel. He would sooner decommission himself before he ever did that. "I don't know Mr Jackson." He uttered defiantly._

"_Oh, so I suppose it just fell from the sky?"_

"_You never know what could happen."_

_The teacher was growling in fury. "Perhaps, but what I _do _know is that you'll be spending two days in after school detention." He seethed out._

"_Two days!"_

"_You'll be serving one for yourself, and another for your little friend." He smirked satisfied. "Make sure to include that in your reply." With that done, he returned to his desk and the rest of class went on after everyone calmed down._

_Nigel gloomily regraded the torn pieces of the note fluttering to the floor. After a few moments, Rachel reappeared and glanced his way, giving him a small smile. He gave off a cheesy one in return._

_Well, at least he had a way to avoid her after school._

_

* * *

_

…That's what led up to this point, him and Hoagie walking down their street on the way home.

Nigel sighed once more before he spoke. "Thanks again for staying after Numbuh 2. You didn't have to do that."

The plump child only waved it off. "What are friends for? Besides, some of the Yipper fan club meets outside the playground every Tuesday. So it all worked out." He grinned as he held up some newly acquired cards. "Oh and by the way, I got the new Ninja's Code video game yesterday." He stated twiddling his thumbs. He then looked up to his leader with an innocent look. "And I was wonderin' if..." He trailed off hopefully.

Nigel only shook his head. "There's work to be done at the treehouse, and with Numbuhs 3 and 4 absent-"

"Pleeeease?" Hoagie begged with a puppy dog expression.

Nigel continued to resist for a moment before he eventually caved in. "Oh alright. I supposed there's no harm in waiting until the others get back."

"Yes!" The kid cheered with a grin. "Hey, ya wanna come over? My mom won't mind."

"No thanks."

"I got cheat codes."

The shade wearing boy only chuckled. "Sorry, but I need to get back home before my parents worry, then I still have to file my operation report on our encounter with the Terrible Tutor."

Hoagie only shrugged. "Suit yourself. See ya later!" He called out as he started down the opposite direction. However, he paused in his step and hurried back to Nigel. "Oh yeah, Numbuh 5 told me to give you this."

Nigel held out his hand and grimaced slightly at what was put in it. "A note?" But Hoagie didn't respond, he had already ventured off back home to slay enemy ninjas on his game system. He held up the piece of paper, weary of it after what had happened so far today. But then he waved it off. It was from Abby, he had nothing to worry about. He unfolded it and read the words that were written inside.

* * *

_Sorry boss man, Numbuh 5's got an eye appointment tonight, so she can't come to the treehouse. See ya tomorrow._

_Oh yeah, just some friendly advice. Numbuh 5 thinks you're swimmin' in denial, and she ain't talking 'bout the river. Heh, heh. _

_

* * *

_

After reading it over, Nigel frowned while blushing at the same time. What was Numbuh 5 trying to get at? She thought she knew everything didn't she? Well she didn't! He crumpled up the note and threw it away while continuing down the street.

As he approached his house, he couldn't help but think back on Abby's message. _'What could she have possibly meant?'_ He chewed on his bottom lip as he guessed at some outcomes. "She can't be suggesting I like Rachel could she?" He whispered as he stood at his porch. The boy just didn't know what to make of any of this. It was all to confusing. Why was it? He was Numbuh 1 of the Kids Next Door. _He_ didn't get confused, he blasted away is foes while he confused _them_. He took action and jumped straight into the unknown, not hide from a girl like some scared kitten.

"This isn't me." He mumbled, his frown getting more apparent. "And I don't like it one bit!" He proclaimed as he pounded his fists together. "I am the leader of Sector V. These silly little musings are nothing compared to the threats I face every waking hour. I'm not going to let some stupid feelings stand in my way." He turned away from his door and faced the street, his form set in mission mode. "I am going to march over to Rachel's house, talk with her, and settle this matter once and for all!" He shouted with his fists in the air...

"..in a few days after I sleep on it." He weakly muttered as he opened his front door, some inner voice calling him a wimp.

Nigel wandered into his living room, slouching slightly as he made his way to the stairs. A delicious aroma wafted in from the kitchen. His mother had started on dinner. But even the prospect of eating his mom's home cooking couldn't even lift his spirits. All he wanted to do was go upstairs and mope. Maybe going over some of Abby's intell reports would help. That always cheered him up.

As he walked over to the railing, his father emerged from the living room. Upon seeing his son, he stopped and greeted him in his ruffled english accent. "Oh there you are son! Where have you been old bean?"

Nigel scratched the back of his head as his eyes shifted. "Kinda got held up at school dad."

The man only laughed. "Oh well you're just in time! We were about to play a round of Monopoly." He then turned and started to looked through the closet behind him. "Now where did I put the darn thing?"

Nigel rose an eyebrow in suspicion. "We? Who's 'we'?" He got his answer as two bodies rushed out into the hallway.

"I call the red car!"

"Harvey slow down!"

If Nigel's hands hadn't reacted as quick as they did, then his shades would have been on the floor. He stared ahead with an astounded expression. A small dirty blond haired bucktoothed boy ran out of the living room followed by his older lighter shade of blond hair sister. They both stopped and gazed at Nigel while he took in them as well. It was Harvey McKenzie, a.k.a Numbuh 363, a.k.a Rachel's annoying little brother. The blond supreme leader herself was standing right behind the boy.

The bald boy just couldn't comprehend it. Rachel, the source of all his conflicted thoughts, was standing here in _his _house, along with her brat of brother?

Can't he get a break today!

Rachel fixed her hair as she secured her brother. "Hi Nigel."

Harvey was far from welcoming as he crossed his arms and glared coldly at the sector leader. "Uno."

Nigel glared right back. "363." He then nervously smiled at the girl. "R-Rachel." He wanted to hit himself for sounded so squeaky. He coughed into his hand before they both went behind his back. "So um... well, what are _you_ two doing _here_?" He asked, glancing at the stairs every so often. If they would just turn around...

His father was the one to answer him this time. "Your little chaps are staying here for dinner son, I volunteered to keep an eye on them for Richard." He finally retreated from the closet, hands on his hips. "Maybe I left in the bedroom." He muttered to himself. He then turned to the stairs and regraded the children. "Why don't you play with your friends until I come back Nigel? You can play your little youngsters next door game or however you say it." He lightly waved off as he ventured up to his room. He was going to find that Monopoly board gosh darn it.

Once his dad was gone, Nigel went back to Rachel with a blank face. "Who's Richard?"

"Our dad." Rachel began to explain. "Remember that 'old friend' I mentioned at school? Well it turns out your dad knew my dad and they helped you guys settle in when you moved to America."

Nigel racked his memory, but couldn't come up with anything. "I was three at the time, but I still think I would have at least remembered seeing you. My memory isn't that bad."

"We moved after your dad finished building the house."

Harvey finally made himself known once he spoke out. "Did a cruddy job if ya ask me."

Nigel glared. "Well no one asked you."

"Be nice Harvey." Rachel scolded her brother. "Besides, we're here because _someone_ blew up our last home."

"I said I was sorry!"

"I'm sure you are after I revoked your candy privileges for a month." The girl shook her head before turning to Nigel again. "Anyway, your dad repayed the favor by telling my parents about a cheap house nearby, and Harvey and I are staying here while our parents take care of some things."

Nigel nodded at the explanation. "Well its sort of a surprise, I had no idea you were coming."

Rachel frowned in response to that statement. "Well you would have if you hadn't avoided me all day." He didn't know what was worse. The fact she noticed, or the guilt that came with doing it. A sad look overcame her features when she spoke again. "I told you I was coming over in that note. Didn't you read it?"

"I couldn't. Mr Jackson destroyed it before I got the chance to look at it. Then he gave me two days of after school detention for it." He grumbled. What kind of teacher gave out that serious of a punishment for something that petty?

"He what!" Rachel gasped out. Harvey giggled lightly before she elbowed him. She then felt terrible. She got Nigel detention because she wanted to make sure he read _everything _on that note. "I'm sorry Nigel, I didn't mean for you to get in trouble."

He only brushed it off like it was nothing. "Ah its nothing. He has it out for me anyway."

"I wonder why?" Nigel decided to be the bigger kid and ignore Harvey's sarcastic remark. He didn't need Rachel mad because he pounded her little twerp of sibling.

The supreme leader was still upset over what she just learned. "Honestly Nigel, its my fault. Maybe I can talk with Mr Jackson tomorrow and tell him-"

"No Rachel really!" He continued to persist. The boy didn't want to her to feel guilty or get in trouble, he hated when she beat herself up over something like that. "You don't have to worry about a thing. Besides, it gives me a chance to finish my homework so I can do more missions afterwards."

Rachel couldn't help but give an inner laugh at his workaholic view of life. It was one of the things she admired about his character. He was completely loyal to the KND and always got the job done. Now if he was only a bit less reckless. She shook her head once she realized she was getting off topic. "Okay, if you say so."

"Man I'm bored." Harvey suddenly called out, drawing the attention of the two. "Haven't you got anything fun to do around here? I've already seen all your baby pictures."

Nigel just bored right into the kid before he grinned. "Well there's this new extra special _surprise_ I've got tucked away in the treehouse that you..." His eyes widened as information caught up with him. "Wait a minute, YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH MY BABY PICTURES!"

"Nigel dear? Is that you?" A womanly voiced filtered through the kitchen. After a moment Agatha Uno appeared dawned in cooking apron. "And just where have you been young man?"

The boy flinched at her stern tone. Not good. "Uh, I just stayed after school mom."

The brown haired woman rose an eyebrow. "So detention is a voluntary program now?"

"H-How did you-"

"A mother has her sources son." She then shook her head disappointed. "Honestly Nigel, two days of after school detention? For passing notes in class no less. I thought we raised you better."

"But mom, it wasn't that serious! Mr Jackson was being a jerk!"

"I'll have none of that." She declared with a her chin up. "From this point on, you are grounded from your treehouse for the rest of the week."

"Mom! That's totally unfair!"

"Its for your own good son. You spend too much time up there when you should be concentrating on your schoolwork."

Rachel looked on saddened that Nigel was getting further punished for something that was her doing. She tried to intervene. "Actually Mrs Uno, he didn't-"

"Oh its alright dear." The woman waved off with a smile. "He can still play with you two tonight, just not in the treehouse." She then turned back to her son. "And after he finishes his homework."

"But-" After receiving another sharp look from his mother he finally gave in. "Yes mother." He then slowly made his way up the stairs to his room.

Rachel watched on as he left the room, she was about to say something before her brother beat her to it. "Have fun, _Nigel dear. _Heh heh heh." His chuckles came to a halt after a glare from his sister. "What?"

Nigel trudged to his room in a foul mood, Harvey's snip not helping it at all. When he got his hands on that brat...

His thoughts of revenge stopped once he bumped into his father, who finally found the board game he searched for. "Where are you headed off to son? I finally have the game. Blasted thing was hiding in the back of the closet." He then shook it bit and the contents made noise. "Although a few pieces might be missing."

"Going to my room dad, mom said so." The boy mumbled out.

"Oh, well I'll leave you to it then." Monty commented. He patted Nigel on the noggin and made his way downstairs. "Don't be long. Dinner will be ready shortly, and we have some other guests coming."

"Yeah, yeah." He reached out and opened the door to his room. But right when he was halfway in, he stopped and thought of something. He turned back to his father's retreating form with a devious look. "Hey dad!"

"Yes?"

"Harvey was just telling me how much he _loved_ the sousaphone." He spoke in an innocent voice, hiding his malicious intent. "In fact, I think he wants you to play for him."

Monty's expression lit up with joy. "Oh wonderful! Its been ages since I gave it a whirl. Of course I'll play for the lad." The man then rushed off to find the instrument of Harvey's doom while Nigel slammed his door shut. At least he would get something out of this.

Back down in the living room, Rachel was scolding her brother for his rude behavior.

"Harvey, you need to stop being so mean to Nigel." She started. They were both on the couch with the younger of the two flipping through channels. "He's had a rough day and you don't need to make it worse."

"Whatever." The boy scoffed. He tuned in to another station and scrunched up his nose. "Ugh, Rainbow Monkeys."

"Give me that!" The girl growled as she snatched the remote from his hand.

"Hey!"

"I mean it Harvey. This is his house and we're his guests so act like it!"

The boy only crossed his arms and glared at the floor. "Well sorry if I'm not crazy about him like you." He muttered darkly.

"W-What's that supposed to mean?"

"Pfft, nuthin'." Harvey grumbled as he buried himself deeper in the cushion. He wasn't blind or stupid, he wasn't the leader of the sector with the highest mission success rate for nothing. He knew about his sister's crush on that cruddy Nigel Uno. Her dairy said so. What he didn't understand was how she could stand that chrome dome. That stuffy James Bond wanna-be. Mr All-Work-And-I'm-Better-Than-Everyone. He couldn't stand that creep.

But Rachel did. Ever since they started talking a lot more the last few months, Nigel was all Harvey would catch in her entries. And he couldn't use that as blackmail material. Well, he could, but he wanted to live to reap the benefits. He hated that some boy, the one he despised the most, got her all in a girly tiff. It wasn't like his sister leader.

But what he hated even more was that the idiot was upsetting his sister. In her last entry, she talked about how the sector leader was avoiding her and ignoring her. Like he wanted no contact with her. The pages went on about what she must have been doing to drive him away, or what was wrong with her. Putting herself down and such. Harvey knew that it was a big deal, because she used almost ten pages to write it down. She hardly ever wrote half that much on a normal day.

So that was why he acted so harsh to the older operative. If he made his sister sad, then he would make him miserable. Harvey cared for his sister and wasn't going to let some stupid bald thinks-he's-all-that-when-he's-not kid hurt her.

"... are you even listening to me?"

He blinked and looked up, noticing for the first time that his sister was talking. He stared at her for a few moments. "...Wha?"

"Argh!" Rachel felt like she was back on the moonbase and no one was obeying orders. She then hopped off the couch and went towards the stairs. "I'm going to talk to Nigel. There's something I need to discuss with him anyway."

Harvey only turned his eyes back to the television and glared at it. "Of course you do."

Rachel ignored her brother's comment as she made her way up. On the way she passed Nigel's dad... carrying a big tuba? "Uh, Mr Uno?"

The man looked down at the girl and smiled warmly. "Oh hello dear, what brings you up here?"

"I was... looking for Nigel."

"His room is right down the hall." He directed as he pointed behind him. "You can't miss it."

"Thanks." The man then waltzed down into to where Harvey was, adjusting his tuba along the way. Rachel kept walking until she heard a loud noise and her brother's scream.

_BUM BUM BUM BUM-BA-BA-BUM_

"_AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

She practically sprinted the rest of the way down the hall.

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**-Transmission Interrupted**

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**KND Trivia: The sousaphone was from- **

**I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed. Your feedback helps me move along. I'm glad you guys like this. I try. Two chapters of this short story left.**

**Later.**


	4. You Screwed It Up

**Transmission Interrupted.... Please Standby.**

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**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.**

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"Two trains leave at five twenty-two, Train A and B. Train A travels at forty-five miles an hour while Train B travels at fifty-five miles an hour... What kind of train moves _that _slow?" Nigel grumbled as he scratched his head. He hated quite a few things, he had a well made list in fact, and he was thinking about adding Ms Gilliam's homework assignments to it. He was sure that over half of these questions had no logical answer. He sighed, deciding to skip over that one. Moving on. "What's one plus five plus eighty plus eleventy billion plus- GAH!" He yelled out in frustration as he threw the textbook to the floor. He sat crossing his arms. "How am I supposed to add that?" His brow raised in confusion a second later. "Just how much is eleventy billion anyway? Is that even a real number?" Curse this universe's numerical system.

Finally fed up with it, Nigel pushed back on his chair and propped his legs on his desk. His arms hanging to the floor. He gazed boringly at the ceiling of his room. This whole situation sucked. He was stuck up here doing his homework, grounded from his treehouse for the rest of the week, and to sum it all up, the source of his crummy mood was right down stairs. Speaking of Rachel, he wondered what she was doing right now.

_'I'm thinking about her again.'_ He droned in his mind, not really caring anymore. What was the point in fighting it? Every time he thought of the supreme leader and tried to ignore it, it always ended badly for him. It was like the world was punishing him for trying to avoid it.

_'But, maybe that's what this is about.'_ He contemplated. Perhaps he was getting all this trouble because he was putting off his problems and not facing it head on like he always did. What was that adult word? Procrastination? Yeah that's it. Putting off what you could do today and letting it drag on, never getting anything solved. The only person he was hurting was himself, literally. And maybe Rachel as well since she was sorta involved in it. ...Well okay, maybe more involved then he let on.

So that's what he had to do. He had to own up and think about all this. _Really _think about it. He had to solve this.

Nigel shook his head again. "S-Solve what?" His stubborn attitude shone through. "There is nothing to be solved. Rachel is my friend and I'm just confused. That's all! I don't have a proble-WAAH!" He spluttered out as he lost balance. His arms and legs flailed about as his chair tittered and landed on the floor with anaudible thump. His eyes slowly opened as he let out a prolonged groan. "Step one: Admitting you have a problem."

He stood up and adjusted his chair before moving to sit on the bed. He could deal with his schoolwork later, this was a more pressing matter.

The boy laid back on the soft sheets and closed his eyes. First thing he had to do was to think about Rachel, the simplest task he had done all day. She was a good kid. A very good kid in his opinion. She was smart, organized, and unlike some operatives, took the KND seriously. Something he could definitely respect. She took every mission zealously, but still knew when to take a break.

She looked out for every operative in the organization, never turning down any request for help. He sometimes thought she overwhelmed herself though, the whole I.T. situation proving that to an extent. Bur other than that, the girl was very supportive. He admired her willingness to assist every troubled child from wicked adult scourges like the Proper Patrol, fighting for the right to express yourself with all the colorful clothing a kid could enjoy.

And even with her strict and uptight demeanor, he knew for a fact that she knew how to have fun when she wanted to. Running a world wide organization was hard work but Rachel how to mange both that and playtime. She was a kid too. He could recall on several occasions the last few months where _she_ somehow got _him_ to loosen up. Which he felt should have been the other way around.

To sum it all up, Rachel was a fun person to be around. At least it seemed that way to him. When they were together he felt like he could relax and be himself. The time he ever felt like that was when he was with his friends in his sector. A while ago when he was still with Lizzie, he found himself doing things he would never ever do just to impress her or made sure she was having fun. Sometimes at his own expense. While he didn't regret doing it, he didn't have to do it now with Rachel. Lizzie wanted a boyfriend who was stable and always made time for her. He couldn't do that. He needed excitement, had to make sure the mission got done, not the same old boring routine. Rachel understood and accepted that. Yes, she may have not liked his reckless attitude and had no qualms about saying it, but she didn't nag on him to change. She even admitted that sometimes a wild card was what the mission called for. But still he didn't see what the problem was. He knew what he was talking about... most of the time.

Nigel sighed as he rose to a sitting position. Even with all that, he didn't get anywhere. All that pointed to was that Rachel was a really close friend. But that still didn't give him an answer as to why he had all these other thoughts that someone wouldn't have about their friend. He never payed close attention to the way Abby dressed like he did with Rachel, nor did he find himself wanting to see Kuki's smile as much as the supreme leader's. And that was saying something because Numbuh 3's grin could light up a whole room, or at least that's what Wally said on one occasion. Nigel never did see that shade of red before and probably never will again.

It was all just too baffling. He just had a feeling the answer was right in front of him but he couldn't see it. Suddenly the wind outside his open window picked up and a ball up piece of trash fluttered right into his face. He peered at it as it fell to the foot of his bed. He reached out and picked it up, opening it to see what it was. His eyes widened as he recognized the message.

..._Numbuh 5 thinks you're swimmin' in denial, and she ain't talking 'bout the river. Heh, heh._

Abby's note. Normally he be wondering just how the heck it got in here, but for some strange reason he was just going over the message's meaning. "Swimming in denial?" Was he lying to himself?

* * *

Just outside, Abby clicked off her pocket fan and looked up to Nigel's window with a grin. The girl lowered her hat and chuckled as she turned and walked down the street. She could only hope her boss would figure it out on his own. They didn't another oblivious '3 / 4' scenario on their hands. But other than that she really wanted her friend to be happy.

...that and she wanted some good candy.

She pulled out a 2x4 communicator from her pocket and dialed a familiar number. She waited until she heard another voice before she spoke. "Numbuh 10?.... Yeah its Abby. Ya know that bettin' pool you got goin' on? The one with yo' cousin.... Well Numbuh 5 is for _it _and she's all in baby." The dark skinned girl smirked. "And there better be some blurpleberry crunchies in that pile 'cause Numbuh 5's got this craving..."

* * *

Nigel had discarded the note in his wastebasket, but its message still lingered in his mind.

"I don't like Rachel that way do I?" He spun the idea around in his head for a bit. Him and 362. It did sound rather appealing. But any happy vibes were pushed down as he tried to approach this rationally. "No. That can't be it." Could it? "It would make things much more complicated then it already is." His expression lowered as he put his hands under his chin. "Besides, what would she see in me anyway?" Even if he did care about Rachel that way, not saying he did, it would never work out. She was the Supreme Commander while he just another sector leader. She didn't like him that way.

But what if she did?

_'That would have to fall under Step Two. Talking with her.'_ He was never going to get this out of the way unless he settled it with Rachel herself. But that would involve telling her about his feelings and he wasn't about to deal with her rejection. That would be worse than being expelled from the KND with Father being the one pulling the lever. Nothing could compare to that.

So he was going to wait until he was ready. He'd made enough progress tonight. He got up and returned to his desk and try and complete his work. As he sat down, the sound of his father's instrument followed by Harvey's scream made contact with his ears. A slow satisfied grin made a way to his face. Revenge was best served with classical music. That'll teach that twerp.

His victory was interrupted as he heard the door to his room slam. Shocked, he turned around to see a panting Rachel leaning against the frame. Looking as if she ran from an army of senior citizombies. "What the heck was your dad playing?" She asked bewildered.

Nigel ignored her question due to the fact she was there period. "What the heck are you doing in my room?"

Rachel rose an eyebrow before she dusted off her orange sweater. "Thought I would see what you were up to."

"Ever heard of knocking?"

"I'm kid. Since when do I knock?" She jokingly questioned as she stepped into the center of the room. She frowned once she realized he wasn't laughing. "What's wrong?"

Nigel quickly came up with something. "Oh just stressed about today. Being grounded and all" He muttered.

Rachel looked down at her feet. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, no adult can keep me down." He spoke confidently.

"Nigel! You're still in your room aren't you?" His mother's voice caused both of them to jump.

"Y-Yeah mom! Still here!"

"Well you better be! If I find you in that treehouse, you'll be banned from it until you're thirteen!" She threaten before she returned to cooking.

Rachel couldn't help but giggle. "Ironic she would choose the decommissioning age."

"Don't I know it." The boy grumbled as he turned back to his paper. "But maybe she has a point. I can't make heads or tails of this nonsense." He frowned as he held up the worksheet in his hand. "Stupid Ms Gilliam and her cruddy homework."

"You have her too?" The girl asked surprised. "I can't understand anything she gives out. I thought it was just me."

"No everyone feels that way." He then lowered his head, trying to avoid any sort of eye contact. "So did you want something?"

Rachel nodded as she got serious. "Yes actually. I wanted to talk with you."

He fumbled his pencil for her statement surprised him. "T-talk?" He weakly uttered. He wasn't ready for step two yet! He shifted his paper around to make it seem like he was working. "I don't know, I'm kinda busy here. Maybe later?"

"No now."

"But Rachel-"

"Do I need to make it an order, Numbuh 1?"

He knew he was in trouble. She hadn't used his codename in private like this in a long time. But he really didn't want to have this conversation and started to get defensive. "Isn't that abusing your authority m'am?"

"Well what else I'm I supposed to do! You won't do it by choice, that much is obvious!" She then frowned as she walked closer. "I'm worried about you Nigel. This isn't like you at all." He was acting all tense around her, like he was forcing himself into it. She didn't like it one bit.

"What makes you think you know what I'm like? Ya don't know everything you know!" He lased out.

That one stung and she felt herself backing away. "I never said I did." She spoke softly. "I just wanted to help."

Nigel frowned and winced at her hurt tone. He didn't mean to go off on her like that. _'Way to go jerk ward. If she liked you before, then you just blew it.'_ He sighed a clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry Rachel. I didn't mean that. Its just..." He paused for a moment. "I just don't think I can talk to you about this."

"But you can about Lizzie, or some other problem?" She reminded him. "I told you I would always listen Nigel and I have. So how is this any different?"

"It _is _different." He spoke, his eyes traveling to her. He was glad his shades kept her form seeing his pupils. "Very different." He had to admit that she looked rather pretty. _'Okay that's not helping!'_ he grunted as he moved back to his bed. "I just have a lot on my mind and its kinda personal. If it wasn't I would have told you by now."

"How can I be sure? You've been avoiding me for weeks. And don't try and deny it." He made no comment and her expression dropped. "Have... have I done something wrong? Whatever it is I'm-"

"No!" He proclaimed. "You've haven't done a thing! None of this is your fault. Its mine. I...I just don't know how to handle it." He finished with burying his face in his palms. For Pete's sake he was just a kid. He shouldn't have to deal with this kind of pressure.

Rachel took in his depressed state. She felt dejected that he was hurting and she didn't know how to help him. All she could offer him was her word that she would listen, but he seemed like he didn't even want that. She walked over and hopped on to his British themed bedspread. "I wish I could help Nigel, but if you don't know how to handle it, then I can't offer anything better. But you can't keep this bottled up. You need to tell someone what's wrong before you really end up hurting yourself."

He looked up as she said that. "What do you mean?"

"I've gotten reports on your last few missions. There have been worried comments from the rest of your team about how you seem easily distracted. Heck, Numbuh 4 even said something."

"Wally's a lot more perspective than he lets on." He defended his friend.

"I'm not trying to down anyone, I'm just pointing out how serious this is."

"I really don't see-"

"You almost lost to the Toiletnator last week!"

"Why does everyone keep bringing that up?" He uttered downheartedly. He makes one tiny slip up and boom, it's the month's hot new gossip.

Rachel patted his shoulder in a comforting manner. "I only want to help you Nigel. I'm your friend. I won't judge and just want to help. But I can't if you don't tell me what's bugging you."

The boy finally looked up to see his leader's face. He could tell that it was full of worry and concern for him, and that she only wanted what was best. She really was a good friend. But could she be more than that.

He angrily shook his head. He just could not get a break. He then went over his dilemma. Maybe he could let her know what was up without telling her directly. He was good at that sorta thing. Maybe it would make him feel better.

At this point he felt he had nothing to lose and decided to give it a shot.

"Well ya see, its... about this girl." He started slowly, trying to control his blush.

Rachel felt her heartbeat quicken. A girl was what had him so stressed out? He didn't like this girl did he? Pushing that aside, she tried to put up the best front possible. "What about her? What's her name?"

"I... I'm really not comfortable with sharing that."

"Oh." She uttered out. "Well, do I know her?"

"Maybe." He offered, hoping that would be enough. "But anyway, she used to be a friend, but recently, we've became a lot closer." He stopped realizing he was sounding too familiar.

"Uh huh." She was listening, but only to find out how he felt about this girl. It was eating her up inside.

Seeing her urging him to continue, he started up once more. "But lately, I've been having these weird feelings. About her. Its like whenever I'm close to her I can't think straight.

Rachel felt her chest tighten. That sounded a lot like what she thought it did. "D-do you like her?"

"That's just it." He finally admitted. To himself mostly. "I don't know."

"Well, describe your feelings towards her."

"Well I admire her. She has a great personality. She's a hard worker and knows how to have fun. I like being around her." He looked down just going over what he thought about earlier. "I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not just to impress her, she's happy with the way I am. And I really enjoy that. We have a lot in common and stuff." A small smile came to his face as he let it all out. "I think I even feel more relaxed around her then I do with my team."

As he kept going on, Rachel found herself drawing away with each comment. By the sound of it, this girl was something special and she and Nigel were really close friends. It sounded like he really liked her. Once he stopped talking, she regarded him slightly. "Well Nigel... it _really_ sounds like you care for her."

He was surprised by her suggestion. "I-I do?" At her nod he found himself having another inner conflict. He liked Rachel? He didn't know what to think. "I don't know about that-"

"It was really convincing Nigel."

"But..." He paused for a moment to take it all in. He still couldn't fully accept it. "But what if she doesn't like me back? What if I really don't like her like you think I do and mess up everything for nothing? I would've flushed a great friendship down the drain just because I was confused."

"You're only confused because you've deceived yourself into believing that you are Nigel." He was about to retort before she rose up her hand. "No, just hear me out. Its what my mom told me one time. Only you know how you feel, and the answer isn't that hard to find. Its really simple and right there, but its right under you and you're looking too hard for it."

He sat there listening to the girl's advice. He turned his had away and looked down. "Maybe..."

"Look, what you really need to do is talk to this girl." She uttered. She cared for Nigel and was going to make sure he was happy. Even if it wasn't with her. "You're not going to solve anything by avoiding it. Besides, if this person is really as much of a friend as you describe her to be, then she'll understand."

Nigel only shook his head. "How do you know this stuff?"

"'Cause I'm a girl."

For the first time today, Nigel found himself letting out a good laugh. After he calmed down he gazed at Rachel with a lighter look. "Thank you Rachel. I do feel a little better."

She only smiled in return. "Glad I could help soldier." A smirk then came to her features. "Now are you going to talk to this girl? Or am I gonna have to order you too?"

He looked out to his room and was silent for a minute. After a few moments of contemplation, he smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I plan on it." Whenever he go the chance, he would talk to Rachel and assess his feelings, whatever they may be.

Rachel nodded herself. "Good to hear." She then lowered her hand on the bed to push her body off of it. But stopped when she felt it come into contact with something warm. She looked down an nearly had a heart attack.

Her hand was right on top of Nigel's.

They both blushed and stared up at each other. After a moment they both gave off cheesy smiles and turned their heads away. The bald boy rubbing his scalp and the girl fiddling with her hair. But for some odd reason, their hands were still together.

Rachel was blushing up a storm at the prospect. Here she was basically holing Nigel's hand when he more than likely cared for someone else that wasn't her. Even with all the embarrassment, she couldn't help but notice how warm his palm felt. She was delighted to be holding her secret crush's hand, but didn't know how he would react to it. He wasn't reacting that much anyway. He hadn't pulled away. Did that mean he didn't mind? Could he actually... She halted that train of thought, not wanting to get her hopes up. She was the Supreme Leader, she needed to keep her emotions in check. But still, it felt nice.

Nigel on the other hand was debating it all. Rachel had put her hand on his. By accident, but it was still a big deal. His heart was all out assaulting his ribcage. He hadn't felt this like before, even when he first joined the KND, or when Lizzie became his girlfriend. It all felt so new to him for some reason. And he couldn't help but notice how... how right it felt. How her hand seemed to fit into his. Oh great, he was getting mushy again. But he had no control over it.

His eyes finally glanced down to see that he wasn't imagining things and that their hands were still connected. He then looked up to see Rachel turned away, a blush on her face. He wondered if she was upset about it, but then realized she hadn't pulled away. Could that mean something? He then remembered that he said he would talk to the girl when he had the chance. Now seemed like the perfect chance. Gathering up every fiber of his courage, he began to address her. "Rachel." He spoke loud and clear and her head snapped to his. He looked into her brown eyes and gulped. It was now or never. "I...I-"

"YOU!" They both jumped at the yell and turned to the door. Standing there was Harvey with bags under his eyes. Like he had seen Grandfather himself. "Do you know what I've been through? I had to listen to that... that _thing_ for almost an hour!" He panted out. "And I know you had something to do with it!" His anger dimmed once he saw what was going on. His eyes were locked on the spot on the bed where his sister's hand was touching Uno's. "What the crud is going on here?"

Rachel's eyes went to where Harvey's were and they widened in embarrassment. "Oh! I uh, um..h-have to go to the bathroom!" She hastily said as she snapped her hand up. She then zipped out of the room, blush still there.

Nigel was wrong. He did see that shade of red again. He sighed and regarded Harvey. He didn't know whether to be angry or glad he interrupted when he did.

...It was Harvey. Of course he should be angry. He glared through his shades at the boy. "What are you doing barging into my room?"

"What was my sister doing in your room?" The boy accused right back. "You didn't hurt her did you?"

"I would never hurt Rachel! How can you even think that?"

Harvey glared before he scoffed. "Yeah your right. She'd beat you up anyway." His face scrunched up in a disgusted expression. "You two were probably making kissy faces at each other. Bleh!" He gagged.

Nigel gave off his own unique shade of red as he heard that. "W-W-We were NOT!"

Harvey rose an eyebrow before he smirked. He had an idea. "Don't try and deny it, I know you like my sister."

"I-I do not!"

"~Nige and Rachel sittin' in a tree-"

"Shut up!" Nigel seethed as he jumped up and began chasing the boy around his room.

"- K-I-S-S-I-N-G-"

"I'm going to maim you!"

"-first comes love-"

"Quit it!"

"-then comes marriage-"

"I'm warning you!"

"-then come bald brats in the baby carriage!~"

"THAT'S IT!" Nigel roared as he tackled the Sector W leader to the floor. They tumbled until Nigel got the advantage and pinned the boy to the ground. "I've had it with you ya little bloody twerp!"

Harvey was down, but sadly, not out. "Aw what's wrong Nige? I interrupt your confession of _looooovvee_?" He continued to taunt.

The bald boy had fire in his eyes. The day had been hard on him and he was about to break. "You better stop 363 before I make you." He growled out slowly.

"Oh Rachel I love ya!" Harvey continued on in a fake British accent.

"Harvey.."

"Oh I love you too Nige!" He gushed in a girl voice, that strangely sounded natural. He then proceeded to make annoying kissing noises. "Muuuuahh! Muuuuahh!"

Nigel's job was to help kids everywhere and never raise a hand against a fellow operative. But he was willing to make an exception. No one would miss the brat. Well maybe Rachel, but they would never be able to prove anything. "One. Last. Chance. Stop before I get _really_ angry."

"Whatcha' gonna do? You can't touch me because that would ruin your chances with my sister." Harvey paused as he looked down at Nigel's hands that were keeping him down. "Oh and for the record, DON'T TOUCH ME!" He raged as he kicked and fussed until Nigel backed off. "DON'T _EVER _TOUCH ME!"

"Rachel has nothing to do with this ya freak!" Nigel proclaimed.

"She has everything to do with it since you like her." Harvey said yet again. Nigel felt something boiling up inside of him and Harvey's jeers were only making it worse. "I saw you holding her hand. I bet you want to do it again dontcha'? I bet you wanna hug her, and kiss her, and do all sorts of yucky things and-"

Nigel finally snapped.

"ENOUGH!" He roared shaking the entire house. "I DO NOT LIKE YOUR STUPID SISTER!" He yelled out in rage. Anything to get him to shut up. "You hear that! I don't like Rachel! I don't want to do any of that STUFF because I don't like her THAT way and I NEVER will! So get that through your skull you annoying, whinny, greedy little TWERP!" He panted after his outburst. He really didn't mean anything of that, but he didn't care as long as he got the kid to shut his yapper. He smirked once he saw that Harvey was just standing there with his mouth wide open, just staring ahead. Nigel was creeped out when he just stood there like that for a while. It was then that he followed his line of sight and realized the kid wasn't looking at him, but somewhere behind him. He turned around and stopped dead cold.

Standing in the open doorway was Rachel with a blank expression on her face. But he could see the underlinings of sadness behind it. She didn't hear that did she? "Rachel I-"

"N-no, its okay Nigel. I understand." She then frowned. "I completely understand." She then turned and walked out of sight.

Nigel's arms fell limply at his sides as he just gazed at where the blonde girl was just a moment ago. What had he done?

"You idiot!" Harvey' remarked caused him to look back at the boy. The small operative was glaring at him like he was the stupidest person on the planet. "You ruined everything!"

It took a few seconds before Nigel could deliver some kind of response. "W-Wha?"

"You were supposed to say how much you like her! Not say you hated her!"

"I-I didn't say that!"

"You basically should have! Way to go _genius._"

"Hold on a second!" Nigel rose his hand up. "What was all that about?"

"You're too stubborn for your own good Uno." Harvey began explaining his fool proof plan. Apparently it wasn't Nigel-proof. "You would never admit you like her on your own, so I had to to put the pressure on to make you confess and you screwed it up!"

"I screwed..." He then shook his had and rage at the boy. "You stupid shrimp! You don't pester people into confessing their feelings. Especially with childish antics like that!"

"So you _do _have feeling for her!"

"Argh!" Nigel felt like ripping his hair out, then he remembered that some people already did that for him. "What does it matter to you?"

"And you're supposed to be the smart one." Harvey grumbled as he slapped his head. "My sister _likes you_ ya bald lame brain!"

That threw him for a loop. "W-What!"

"Its written all in her dairy. About how she admires your character, your commitment to the KND and blah, blah, blah. I honestly don't see how she can stand a big showoffy jerk like you. All you do is upset her."

"How do I-"

"She always fusses about how you go off to get yourself killed, and how about you've been avoiding her lately. Well I'm sick of it! I was sick and tried of you messing with my sister, so I decided to make you say you like her so you two could get it over with!"

Nigel was dumbfounded. By the fact Harvey, in his own annoying twisted little way, tried to somehow help him. And by the fact that Rachel liked him. Him. Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 liked-liked him, Numbuh 1 of Sector V. He was filled with warmth and a feeling that made him feel elated.

But then it was crushed as he recalled what just occurred. "It doesn't matter now." He uttered despondently. "She probably hates my guts now."

"Yeah, sucks to be you."

Harvey's retort caused him to snap on him again. "This is all your fault!"

"Mine?"

"If you hadn't stepped in, I wouldn't be in this situation right now!"

Harvey just snorted. "Well excuse me for trying to help your big butt."

Nigel smiled in a sickeningly sweet manner. "For the record Harvey, the next time you want to help me, do me a favor," He leered right in the youngster's face. "AND DON'T HELP ME!" With that, he marched out of his room to find Rachel and salvage the mess he made.

* * *

Downstairs, Nigel looked everywhere for Rachel, having no luck at all.

"Where could she be?" He asked himself. He ran into the living room blindly and ended up running into his father again. "Omph!"

"Hold your horses Nigel." Monty called out to calm his son. "Everything alright old bean? I heard quite the ruckus up there."

"Its nothing dad." He said hurriedly trying to get around the man. "Listen, have you seen Rachel?"

"Your little friend?" Monty pondered curiously. "I believe she ran out into the backyard. Poor dear seemed quite upset about something."

Nigel's struggles stopped as he heard that. "Upset?" He asked weakly. Oh Zero, did he make her cry?

Monty's bushy brow moved up in curiosity. "Everything alright son?" He asked a bit seriously.

"I...I..." He then sighed and flopped down on the couch nearby. "I don't know anymore dad." He admitted as he sunk deeper into the cushion.

Seeing his son in distress, Monty's fatherly instincts kicked in. He hobbled over and sat down next to his boy and laid a massive hand on his shoulder. "What's the matter Nigel?"

"I messed up dad." The boy admitted as he looked down. "I said some things... things I didn't mean and now Rachel hates me."

"Oh, I see." The man viewed. "Sounds to me like an apology is in order son."

"I know, but what if it doesn't work? What if she never forgives me?"

"You never know until you try. Besides, she seems like a cracker jack girl, I'm sure she would understand if you just talked with her."

"I know, its just.." Feeling defeated, he took off his shades and just gazed into them, hoping he would find the answers to everything in their glare. "When did everything get so hard dad? Everything used to be fun and easy. But now... its like I'm lost and can't figure a way out."

"Growing up is never easy son." Monty started seriously, causing Nigel to glance up at him. "Its different for everyone, and everyone has their own worries they need to overcome."

"I'm growing up?" The boy asked bewildered. The whole prospect terrified him. "I don't want to grow up! I don't wanna be some stupid teenager, or..or a boring adult!"

"You can't remain a child forever son. You only have a few years of your childhood left, and you should enjoy them to the fullest. But you can't ignore the fact your getting older, or that your body is changing."

Nigel only shook his head. "You don't get it dad." He didn't understand what was at stake. He didn't know you lost all your memories once you hit thirteen. It was something he was dreading.

"I was a child once too you know"

_'Yeah, until you got decommissioned. Twice. Don't remember that do you?'_ He thought ruefully. "Adults are evil dad, they-"

"Oh really?" The man pressed, his eyes slightly visible. "Am I evil? Is your mother evil?"

"N-no but-"

"Just because you've aged doesn't mean its the end of the world son. Just because all the adults you know are evil doesn't mean you have to be. Unless you want to be like them."

"No!"

"Its the choices you make that shape you son. Only you can decide who you can become."

Nigel couldn't help but sighed as he continued to stare at the floor. "Sounds kinda cheesy dad."

The man only patted him on the head and smiled. "You'll understand one day son, when you're older." He then sat up. "Now maybe you should find your friend and make up, shouldn't let this one get away eh?" He winked.

Nigel slapped his forehead and groaned. His dad too? Suddenly the doorbell rang and Monty perked up. "That must be them! I'll get it." He called out as he went to the door.

Nigel only twiddled his sunglasses in his fingertips. He should go and talk to Rachel, but what was the point? She would probably go off to the moonbase and have him to be shot on sight. He sighed for the umpteenth time this evening. This day couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Benedict! You made it!" He heard his father call... Wait a minute, Benedict!

He looked to the door with a horrified expression as he saw a black silhouetted figure waltz into his house followed by five children he would know anywhere. "...No way!"

"Oh yes Nigel." The five voices spoke out in unison. "Way. Heh, heh, heh."

Monty only smiled unknowingly. "I haven't seen you in ages old chap. What made you decide to come over?"

"I thought it would be a good idea to get acquainted with the family." Father spoke out smoothly, his yellow eyes gleaming right into Nigel's. "I never want to the miss the opportunity to spend time with my _favorite_ nephew."

As Nigel gazed into the form of his archenemy, only three words came to mind.

_'Worst. Day. _Ever._'_

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**Next time, the exciting conclusion to Operation: R.E.B.O.U.N.D.**

**Phenon out.  
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	5. End Transmission

**Transmission Interrupted... Please Standby.**

…**Processing... Processing...**

**Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.**

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If Nigel hadn't been convinced that some strange force was out for him before, then he utterly believed that now gazing at the figures of the KND's worst of the worst. The five goody-goody adult worshipers, the Delightful Children From Down The Lane. And their evil hotheaded father and self proclaimed most sinister adult in the world, Father. They were in his house, for reasons he didn't want to even begin to understand, and chatting with his dad like they were friends or something!

The bald boy was still stupefied on the couch, his sunglasses almost slipping from his fingers. He then rigorously shook his head and remembered who he was dealing with. His hand reached in between the cushions of the sofa and pulled out a weapon he had for emergency occasions just like this. Who was the paranoid one now?

He hopped from his seat, did a roll on the floor, and landed right in front of the group trying to keep the weapon aimed on each of them evenly. "Alright freaks, hands where I can 'em!" He said threateningly. However his threat was null and void as his dad snatched the tech from his grasp. "Hey!"

"Nigel, don't point such silly things at our guests." Monty scolded as he waved around a finger. "It's very rude."

Nigel's eyes widened. "Guests! Dad, do you even know who these people are? It's _Father_ and his creepy little minions!"

The flaming villain looked appalled. "Well I never!"

"Nigel! Is that any way to talk to your Uncle and your cousins?"

"They're not even my real cousins!"

"That's mean." The five children cried out. Their faces gave off a sad look as they gazed up at Monty. "We only wanted to play with our favorite cousin. But he's not being nice to us!" They acted out to gain the man's favor.

It worked. Monty turned to is son with one of his rare stern expressions. "See what you've done son? Now apologize to them."

Nigel's face paled. _Him_ apologize to the _Delightful Children_? The very notion made him ill. "You. Can't. Be serious!"

Monty only stared at his boy, arms crossed and tapping his foot waiting. Nigel's face fell as he sighed. His mom had already gotten on him, he didn't need punishment from his dad too. He looked into the faces of the five. They were behind his dad and sticking their tongues out at him. He snarled but decided to get it over with. "I'm... sorry." He spat out, wiping his mouth off on his sleeve. Where was a bar of soap when you needed it?

Monty's smile returned. "Now that wasn't so hard was it?" He had no idea. The man then turned to face his brother once again, oblivious to heated tension in the room. "Agatha is still in the kitchen, is there anything you want to do until she's done?"

Father rubbed his chin in thought. "Gee, now that you mention it, I would love to try my hand at some good old fashioned Monopoly." He then playfully elbowed his brother while giving off a friendly vibe. "I wanna see how I stack up against the champ."

"Oh you!" Monty proclaimed at the man's flattery. "That sounds like a cracker jack idea! We were all about to play anyway. The more the merrier I always say." He then turned to the small coffee table where he laid the game. "Let's get started and... oh dear." He muttered. Th board he left sitting on the table was no where in sight. "Dash it all, where is the blimey thing?" He spoke as he scratched his head.

Nigel rolled his eyes at his father's antics. He gaze then wandered over to the five freaks. He let off a shocked expression as he saw they were holding the Monopoly board behind their backs with devious looks in their dull sky-blue eyes. He tugged at Monty's sleeve trying to get his attention. "Dad-"

"Not now son." He waved off. "I'm trying to remember where I left it." He spent all evening searching for it just for it to disappear? Not on his watch. His look went over to the stairway. "Maybe I misplaced it up there." He then walked over and started his trek up, but not before regrading the people below. "Don't you worry, I'll be back in a jiffy. Why don't you spend some time with your Uncle son?"

Nigel was about to protest but then he felt a hot feeling on his shoulder. He snapped over to see that Father had placed his hand there, little almost invisible smoke trails radiating off it. "Don't you worry Monty old pal. I'm sure we'll have a lot to _talk_ about." He spoke as he gazed into Nigel's eyes, transferring his real meaning.

The man only smiled. "I'll leave you to it then." He then went the rest of the way up, humming a happy tune along the way.

Once his dad disappeared from view, Nigel slapped the hand away and jumped across the coffee table. Glaring at the figures all the while.

"Good ol' predictable Monty." Father chuckled as he took the board game from his children. "He always was on the dull side." He glared as reduced the box to ashes within his clutches. "But I suppose that works out just fine."

Nigel glared processing the situation. Father was giving off an aura of heat he could feel from his spot and the delightful brats were just standing behind him grinning. Awaiting orders like the drones they were. "Since we've stopped pretending, mind telling me what you want before I kick you out on the street?"

"My, my. Aren't we being rude today?" Father spoke as his hands folded behind his back. "I would be a little more polite if I was in your situation."

Nigel only smirked. "Look who's talking." His fist collided with the wall beside him and a secret passageway revealed itself. "You're in _my house _now Father. Just a quick trip to the treehouse and-"

"We're afraid there will be none of that Numbuh 1." The voices had moved and Nigel looked to see them right next to the kitchen door. They smirked evilly as they bore right through him. "After all, we wouldn't you to be banned from your precious treehouse until you're thirteen. Heh, heh, heh." They laughed in that way that made your skin crawl.

"How did you know about..." He trailed off as his eyes widened in realization. He then glared and pointed at them accusingly. "It was _you_ dorks who told her, you no good tattletales!"

Father only patted the five on the head. "My kids did what was expected of them, like the well behaved children they are." He spoke proudly. "They would never get detention for something like passing notes in class. Unlike some miscreants I know."

Nigel only scoffed. "So what? If you think that's gonna stop me, then you've got another thing coming." He said as his foot stepped into the passageway. However, his mother's voice yelled out as soon as it made contact with the ground.

"NIGEL! YOU'RE NOT GOING INTO THAT TREEHOUSE, ARE YOU?"

Her voice made him flinch and he jumped away from the door like it was on fire. "N-No mom!"

"That's a good boy." She called out sweetly. "Dinner is almost ready!"

Nigel groaned after she finished. His look traveled back to the foes who were laughing at his misfortune. "What do you want Father?"

"Isn't obvious?" He asked raising his hands up. "I mean, one of my greatest annoyances lives right down the street and I happened to be related to him. Why not take advantage of that and wipe him out once and for all?"

"You've known that all your life you loser! What's this really about?"

"Why do you always assume something is deeper then what it should be?" The man questioned innocently. When Nigel didn't lower his glare, Father rolled his yellow eyes. "Fine. I _may _have this new plot to rid the world of you Kids Next Door and I need you for a little test. But I'm still basically wiping you out and that's all you really need to know! Happy now?" He grumbled.

"I should've known." Nigel stated boringly. "So what's your big plan now? Grinding us into coffee beans to power your adult armies?"

"No. But that's very creative idea. I'll see if I can work in somewhere." He commented as he jotted it down. He then coughed into his hand. "But if you're so curious to find out, then come along. Lets have a little chat. Uncle to Nephew."

Nigel only snorted. "As if. I would never cooperate with you. Not even if you tortured me for a buhmillion years!"

"Oh dear me. It appears we had some miscommunication there." Father proclaimed as he put a hand to his chest while another went behind his back. "You see, I wasn't ASKING!" He roared as the hand behind him flung forward, throwing a condensed ball of flame.

The attack caught Nigel by surprise, but he hopped back to avoid the blow. But as the ball graced the floor he was at a moment ago, it erupted with an explosive boom. The force of the fire like grenade caused Nigel to fly backwards wildly. The heat burned his front while he went barreling out the window into the yard, Father and his delightful children following.

* * *

The Uno residence was quite unique. For years ago when Monty had brought his family to the states, he found himself coming to this spot. Where as the rest of the neighborhood was modernized, this place had remained untouched, the tree standing in its massive glory. The man had a desire to build a house here. For some reason, the tree reminded him of his childhood. A foreign memory he couldn't exactly place. He didn't want to chop it down, so with the help of an old friend he built around it.

Over time, the tree itself somehow became ingrained with the house, its roots growing in and around it. So the massive roots reached out into the recesses of the house's backyard. And somewhere hidden in the roots, sat a blonde haired girl. Her legs were tucked into her chest with her arms folded around them.

Rachel looked up from her position and gazed into the sky. The sun had set only minutes ago, the only traces of light being from the dim purplish-orange glow upon the horizon and the street lights flickering to life. A cool crisp nighttime breeze fluttered through the air, signaling the start of the evening. Her brown pupils could make out the moon, causing her thoughts to stray elsewhere. She wondered how everyone up at the moonbase was faring. She left others in charge because she had to settle in to her new home and neighborhood. She couldn't have a fake kid robot walk around here if she didn't even know where everything was.

She couldn't recall when she had been down on Earth for something unrelated to the KND. The kid robot recorded school lesson plans and them sent up in transmissions along with her homework assignments. And she normally worked through weekends when everyone else on the moonbase went home. It felt nice to take a little time off and get to be at least something of a normal kid. But after what happened earlier, she felt like she wanted to go back to the moon and never come down again.

"_I DO NOT LIKE YOUR STUPID SISTER! You hear that! I don't like Rachel! I don't want to do any of that STUFF because I don't like her THAT way and I never will!"_

The words still rung loudly in her mind and the hurt seemed to increase every time they repeated themselves. She just couldn't believe it. He was such a jerk. She thought they were friends. Apparently not. Not if he could say that about her.

She liked Nigel. She really did. He was a smart and cunning leader. He always came up with some kind of strategy that would get the job done, and the loyalty between him and his team was unquestionable. He was extremely committed and determined. He treated the KND like it was the only thing he lived for and he never gave up hope. Even when no one believed him about Numbuh Zero or when he was the last free operative on the planet.

He was a caring person when he wanted to be. Even with all the things she overheard about Lizzie from other kids he stuck by her and cared greatly for her. That showed even after their relationship ended. He was a true friend to her. He lightened up her dull routine with his witty humor, and he believed in her when even she didn't. With all the doubt and second guessing that came with her job, she came to appreciate that fact immensely.

She would admit it hurt when he said he really liked that girl he was describing. A small part of her believed that with Lizzie gone and they being closer he might come to like her the way she did for him. But if he wanted this other girl, then she would try and help him win her over. No matter if it meant he wouldn't be with her.

When she excused herself from his room after Harvey showed up, she did the one thing she promised herself she would never do. Get her hopes up. Once she thought of it rationally, she thought that the girl he was talking about could be her. He said she was a friend that had gotten close to him recently. Hadn't they began to talk more as of late? And he was about to tell her something before her brother interrupted. Something he was very nervous about. And when their hands were together he didn't reel away. Maybe there was a chance.

But it was shot down with his outburst. He didn't care for her _that_ way and apparently never will.

"Well fine then." She mumbled to herself weakly. "If that's how he feels, then fine. I got my answer. He doesn't need me, I don't need him. Life moves on." As the sadness returned, she wished life would hurry up and move.

"Sis?" The other voice startled her and she looked up from her place to see Harvey's head poking out from behind a root. His eyes squinted as he tried to make out her form in the darkness. "Are you crying?" He must be seeing things, his sister leader _didn't_ cry over anything.

His question confused her, but when she rubbed at her eyes, she felt a bit of moisture. That surprised her. She rubbed it off and frowned. She was the Supreme Leader, she didn't need to be crying over something so silly. "I'm not crying Harvey." She spoke clearly as she stood up.

Now that he could see her better, the boy took in his sister's appearance. Her clothes had some dirt on them and her hair was ruffled, but other than that, she stood strong like she always did. But as he looked into her face, he could tell she was upset. He frowned. Stupid Uno. "You okay?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, trying to forget the whole thing. "I just came out for some fresh air. I haven't had time to myself in a long time."

He didn't fully believe it. "You sure it isn't what that creep said?"

"No!" She yelled frowning. "I don't care about what Nigel said! He made it clear. He doesn't like-like me. So what? It's no skin off my bones." She continued to protest. "I really couldn't care less about it."

Harvey just rolled his eyes. "Come on sis. We both know you really like him."

Rachel's eyes widened. "How did _you _know?" Her pupils narrowed as her fists clenched. "Have you been through my dairy again?"

"See! You didn't deny it!" He said in an attempt to get the heat off him.

"I-I.." Rachel began to stutter. Finally she sighed. What was the point in arguing anymore? "It really doesn't matter at this point. You heard him, he doesn't like me that way."

Harvey groaned after she said that. Why did big kids have to be so stupid? Sure, he was utterly grossed out by the thought of his sister together with that loser, but she was clearly not happy right now. But still, it was the guy's own fault for screwing up. It wasn't like _he_ did anything wrong. Seeing Rachel's expression again, he sighed before thinking of something. "Maybe you should forget 'im?" He offered.

The girl only shook her head. "It's not that easy Harvey."

He slumped at that. Hey it was worth a shot. He shuffled his foot in the ground as he crossed his arms. He'd already tried to get the boy to admit his feelings earlier. The loser should be grateful he was trying again. "You could, uh,..I don't know. Talk to him or something." He mumbled out lowly.

Rachel only rubbed her at her arm. "Maybe." Wasn't that what they should've done in the first place? "Where is he?"

"In the house." Rachel dropped at that. He wasn't even going to apologize? "I think Mrs Uno said something about his uncle comin' over. Whoever that is."

The girl suddenly snapped up that remark. "His _uncle_!"

Following her comment, the sound of shattering glass filled the air. Then after that, the sound of a body meeting the ground accompanied with a yell came shortly after. Looking at each other, Rachel and Harvey moved to see what the heck was going on.

* * *

"Omph!" Nigel groaned as he landed ungracefully on the ground. As he got his bearings, he patted down the small flickers of flame on his turtleneck, leaving behind singes in the cloth. He then looked to his left and noticed his sunglasses where laying a few inches away. He made to grab them, but another fire ball caused him to reel back.

"You'll have to do better than that!" He looked up to see Father levitating above him slightly. He quickly rolled out of the way as the man shot off another volley of flame. "Hold still!" Father raged as he tried to toast the boy.

After avoiding a series of flares, Nigel leaped into action. With a battle cry, he jumped up to engage the man in hand-to-hand combat. The man shifted and swerved and dodged all of the boy's blows. "What's the matter nephew?" Father taunted as he ducked Nigel fist, not even trying to fight back. "Having an off day?"

"I'll show you an off day!"

"Even your little comebacks are lacking." The boy growled as he paused. He then grinned as he suddenly jumped while rearing back his hand. He swung it forward with intent to knock the villain's face off, but Father only brought up his hand and caught the boy's in it. He then chuckled a bit. "Ya know in hindsight, that was a pretty bad idea."

Nigel was about to ask why, but then he ripped his hand away as it started to burn in Father's grip. He glared at the man, only to grunt in pain as he let off an intense heatwave that blew him back.

"What a shame." Father said almost disappointed. "And here I thought I was gonna have to work for it."

As he recovered, Nigel couldn't help but yell at himself. What was wrong with him? Father had never had the upper hand as much as he did now. He needed to think. As he did, he looked around the yard to find something that could help him. His gaze then caught sight of the water hose attached to the side of the house. Perfect!

Father came at the boy again, and Nigel managed to weave his way around the yard. After what seemed like hours, the black suited man unleashed a torrent of fire that Nigel dodged. While Father recovered from the exhaustion, Nigel made his way over and picked up the water spraying device. As he aimed it at his uncle, he couldn't help but grin at the man's expression. "Time to cool you off Father!" He proclaimed as he set it for full blast.

...But nothing happened.

"What?" He looked down surprised. He kept fiddling with the switch, but all that came out was tiny drips. Confused, he looked back behind him to see if anything was obscuring the hose. It turned out that there were five things obscuring it.

"We're sorry. Do you need this on?" The Delightful Children taunted. The pigtailed girl had her hand on the knob. "Here, allow us to assist you!" They yelled out as they turned it all the way on.

The pressure in the hose built up, and the water spewed from the mouth wildly. The force behind it took Nigel by storm and it flung him rapidly in the air. "WHOOOOOAH-AAAHHH!" He screamed as he was tossed about like some paper in the wind. After a few moments, the children turned off the water and with no more power, the hose fell to the ground limp. Nigel along with it.

He landed on the ground, his body making a squishing noise as it came into contact with the wet grass. He rolled over on his back with a groan and sat up. The hose plan had backfired and instead of Father, he was the one soaking wet. All because an error on his part. How could've he forgotten about the Delightful Children? Where ever Father was, his little lapdogs were two steps away. If he would've taken them into account then this could have been over by now. But as he felt a shadow envelop him, he thought that maybe it was over.

"I'm tired of all these games." Father spoke. He reached down and grabbed the from of Nigel's shirt and pulled him up to his face. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in the evening dusk. "Now you're going to come with me, and you are going to like it mister!" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Now, which one of these calls-"

"HIYA!" The cry caused Father to look back, only to come into contact with a Yield sign. The blow caused him to drop Nigel and fly backwards to the ground. After her attack had hit, Rachel dropped to the ground. She twirled her weapon around in the air before she slammed it into the ground. She glared at the adult as he got to his feet. "No one messes with _my_ operatives and gets away with it!"

"Wait a minute, I know you!" Father exclaimed as his expression darkened. "You're the one that tried to make me eat that broccoli." He growled as his body was enveloped in fire. "I HATE BROCCOLI!"

Nigel shook his head as he got himself together. His gaze traveled from an angry Father to a combat ready supreme leader. At seeing the girl, his eyes widened. "Rachel! What are you-"

"Stay put Numbuh 1," She ordered when she saw the villain approaching. "I'll handle this." With that said, she lifted her Yield sign and went to clash with the man head on.

Worried about her safety, Nigel stood up and was about to help her out, but he was held back her little brother. "Hey! What are you dong?" He yelled as the kid held him back.

"My sister ordered you to stay put, and you have to because that's what she said!"

"What are you, her enforcer?"

Back with the brawl, Rachel was holding her own against Father. The man fired off another blast which she deflected with her weapon. She then flipped it where the boxing glove end was facing out and charged forth. The glove met the man's torso and he doubled over with a grunt. While he was bent over, Rachel spun her weapon and swung at Father like it was a baseball bat. However, the man caught it right before it slammed into his face. He then forced his strength on the sign and laughed as he pushed Rachel back easily. "You're out of practice girl. Having a desk job does that to you."

Rachel glared right back at him. "I don't need practice to beat a loser like you!" She then brought her foot back and rammed it right into Father's most vulnerable area...

...His shin. What did you think I was gonna say?

"OW!" He screamed as he held his knee, hopping on one leg all the while. "You little cheater! That was a cheap sho- AHH!" His yell was interrupted as Rachel slammed her weapon into him, knocking him down.

He groaned as he rubbed his face. It was followed by a grunt as he felt Rachel stomp down on his chest. He looked up to see the girl had her weapon raised. The boxing glove end was hovering over his face. This was gonna hurt. "Lights out Father!" She yelled as she readied to deliver the final blow. However the attack was stopped as she was encased in a energy field that came from somewhere behind her. "Wha?" She uttered confused as she tried to escape.

"Ahem." That noise caused her and Father to look back to find the Delightful Children standing there, holding a device that kept Rachel trapped. "We're still here you know." They grumbled out, tired of being ignored.

"Uh, I knew that all along." Father said shifting his eyes. He then stood up and praised his kids. "Good work my Delightful Children." He then turned to rub his victory I the girl's face, but then his eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute. If you're that broccoli girl, that means you're Numbuh 362! The Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door."

"What's it to you?" The blonde grounded out as she tired to find away out of the energy field.

Father only laughed. "Why it means a lot to me! You're the Supreme Leader. That would work out much better than my annoying nephew."

The Delightfuls looked a little downhearted. "But Father, we wanted to torture information out of that bothersome Numbuh 1." They whined.

"Now, now, children. Beggars can't be choosers." The man scolded lightly. "The important thing is that we cripple our enemies by any means necessary."

"Yes, Father."

"Hey, I'm a fair guy. You still get to torture the Supreme Leader all you want!"

The five grinned deviously. They turned to the Leader with a look of glee. "Tell us Rachel, have you ever wondered how Nigel became bald? Heh, heh, heh, heh."

Rachel paled a bit before she doubled her efforts to escape. "You're all crazy if you think I'm going anywhere with you!"

Father laughed once more. "Aw, the little scamp thinks she has a choice. That's adorable." His expression then became serious. "Alright kids, time to go." He then picked up his key set and pressed a button. Suddenly a loud humming noise filled the air and the wind picked up around the area.

Nigel looked on in fright as Rachel was held captive. The wind started blowing harder and he and Harvey gazed up to see some large flying aircraft hovering over his house. It was sleek in design and was an ebony color, almost matching the darkening sky. It had a red outline and yellow tinted windows, and a bumper sticker saying, 'World's Badest Dad.' Well.

As the bottom of the ship opened up, Nigel finally snapped into action. "Oh no you don't!" He jerked free of Harvey and rushed head on towards Father.

The man only gazed at Nigel and shook his head. "Looks like someone needs a TIME OUT!" He roared as he shot out a ring of fire. It spun and dropped around Nigel, trapping the boy before he could get any further. Father only sighed. "This was almost _too_ easy. I must say, I'm disappointed in you young man. I expected a little more out of you." He then shrugged. "Eh, can't be helped. Not that I'm complaining." He then pressed another button and a tractor beam sprung from the ship's opening, dragging Father, the Delightfuls and Rachel up.

"Don't worry boy, I'll be back for you soon enough." He laughed out loud. "First your Supreme Leader, then the KND, and then every snot-nosed brat in the world!"

Rachel looked down as the ground got farther and farther away. Her eyes shrunk. Heights weren't her best friend. Her eyes scanned the field until they locked with Nigel's.

The boy stood there in the ring of fire stunned. He gazed into Rachel's brown pupils and felt helpless. What could he do?

"UNO!" Harvey's scream snapped him back to reality. The boy looked distressed at the capture of his sister. "Don't just stand there, DO SOMETHING!"

At that, Nigel racked his brain for a solution, but could find none. He gazed at his feet. What _could_ he do? It wasn't like he could magically fly up there and... his train of thought paused as he glanced at his feet again.

Jet boots. Duh.

Clicking his heels together like mad, the shoes flared to life as they propelled him into the air. "Rachel! Hold on!"

At the shout, Father looked down to see the bald boy coming. "Ah, there's that persistence." He rose a hand as he gathered fire in it. "Too bad you're too late!" He yelled as he flung it right at him. Nigel's eyes widened as the ball exploded right next to him. The blast burned his clothes and caused his boots to malfunction, dropping him to the earth below.

Rachel looked on horrified as Nigel's body hit the ground with a thump. Father's chuckle caused her to turn her attention to him. "Oh I'm sure your little boyfriend is fine." His yellow eyes narrowed as he puffed on his pipe. "Besides, he's the least of your worries. AH HAHAHA-...huh?" He stopped as he noticed something on the side of his ship. "Hey, WHERE DID THAT DENT COME FROM?" He yelled out. He then slowly turned to the Delightfuls as they whistled innocently. "Children, something you plan on telling me?"

Nigel groaned as his vision started to clear. He moved his body into a sitting position, his body protesting all the way. He looked down to see most of his turtleneck was brunt black, but the fire had stopped before it did any serious damage. Remembering who caused his pain, the boy glanced up into the sky in time to see Father's ship already flying away. He was gone. Rachel was gone.

"He got my sister!" Harvey panicked. Nigel looked back blankly at the boy as he ran around in circles. He really couldn't blame him. The Supreme Leader had been captured by Father. He felt like freaking out as well. "What'll we do? What do we DO?"

What do they do? He felt like it was a good question at this point. Father had Rachel, his team was scattered out, and he had barely put up a fight. Could he even do anything?

Suddenly a glint caught his eye. He looked to his left and saw something laying in the grass. Curious, he slowly reached out and picked up whatever it was. When he brought into his sight, he was surprised to find what it was. His sunglasses. He took them off inside and forgot to put them back on. He must have lost them during the fight.

Nigel just stared into the shades. Trying to find answers in them. Even though he knew it was useless, he just kept staring. After a few moments, he thought he saw something. At first he brushed it off, probably today's stress finally getting to him. But he could still make something out. Deciding to try, he narrowed his eyes and looked harder. Finally he made out the image. It was just a reflection of him. He looked pathetic. His clothes were scorched, his face bruised and to sum it up, beaten. He felt his mood drop more.

Suddenly the image changed for a split second. And for that split second, he didn't see the beaten quitter who just gave up. No, he saw a bald kid standing straight and strong. A kid wearing a red turtleneck sweater and a pair of sunglasses. The kid was staring ahead, his face etched with determination and a confident smirk. Like he had already won. As said before, the image only lasted for a second. So quick that he passed it off as his mind playing tricks on him. But even so, he knew who he just saw. He saw Numbuh 1 of the Kids Next Door. He then remembered something. He remembered it as his eyes filled with a familiar spark.

_He_ was Numbuh 1 of the Kids Next Door.

His fist clenched as he stood up straight. It was time to stop sitting around and moping. He wasn't going to wait for someone to come along and make everything better. He was going to fix it himself. Now was the time for action. Father had the Supreme Leader. He had Rachel. It was time to get her back.

"Get a hold of yourself." He spoke loudly to Harvey who was still running around.

"Huh?"

"We are KND operatives." He declared as he dusted off his shades. "Keeping kids safe is our top priority. And I believe there is a kid who needs to be saved."

Harvey was still skeptical. "But its Father! And he has my sister. Ya know? The SUPREME LEADER?"

"And _you_ are a SECTOR Leader. So start acting like one!" He pointed out. "You're right, Father does have Numbuh 362 and it's our duty to get her back."

"But how? What're we gonna do?"

"What we always do." Nigel put on his sunglasses and entered mission mode. "We kick some evil adult butt."

"We still need a plan." Harvey said yet again. "Do we call in Global Command?"

"No time. By the time they get here, Rachel will probably already be delightfulized." He uttered, stressing the serious of the situation. "Here's what we do, we head up to the treehouse and grab all the weaponry we can. Then we'll catch up to Father before he gets out of range."

"My sister was right. You are crazy! We just go in there guns blazing?"

"Numbuh 2 has a new 2x4 weapon that might give us an edge, and besides, do you have a better solution?"

Harvey lowered his head, but then recalled something. "Your mom said not to go into the treehouse. You'll be banned from it until you're thirteen."

"I don't care, Rachel is more important then that." Nigel then regraded Harvey slightly. As much as he hated to admit it, he was going to nee the twerp's help if he wanted to have a chance. He rose up his hand and held it out. "Kids Next Door?"

Harvey stared at Uno's hand, then at Uno himself. He then gazed into the face of the Numbuh 1 he had heard so much about. The calculating eyes behind the shades, coming up with an insane battle plan. He straight posture that didn't back down to anything. This was the cocky Numbuh 1 he utterly loathed. The one his sister leader felt the exact opposite about. He didn't like Nigel, but the guy was willing to get in soo much trouble to save his sis and deal with working with him.

Harvey looked at the hand and crossed his arms. He wasn't touching him. But he did meet Nigel's gaze and nodded his head. "Battle Stations." He finished. The guy wasn't going to survive without him anyway.

Nigel accepted that and lowered his hand. "Alright then, lets move out." The two then ran back towards the house to prepare for the rescue mission. But along the way, he thought of something. "Harvey, do you have any of those M.A.R.B.L.E.s you stole from the moonbase?"

* * *

In the skies, Father sat in his cushioned seat, gazing out the window of the Delightful Carrier. (He promised he would let his kids name the next ship. Which would so happen to be his own.) His eyes seemed to gleam in the night as he puffed on his pipe a few more times. The man turned and regraded his 'guest'. "So, how does it feel to be on a _real_ aircraft?"

"Eh, seen better." Rachel replied boringly. The girl was currently strapped down in a metallic chair in the center of the deck. The chair was plugged into the core which powered the energy cufflinks keeping her restrained. Every time she tried to move they would send of pulse through her body. It didn't hurt that much but made her uncomfortably numb. So she stopped struggling and kept an eye out for a way to escape. "I'm actually surprised it isn't a rip off of one of ours, since that's all your workers are good at."

"Hey! Don't you insult the fine men and women who built this craft. They worked very hard on this!" He then patted the seat arm. "Look, its even got cup holders. Which was very considerate of them because putting one of these in is no walk in the park."

Rachel smirked smugly. "Our cup holders _make_ cups with soda in them. And our maintenance crews are _way_ better."

Father tried to make a comeback. "Yeah? Well...uh, I don't need the extra sugar anyway! And my crew is just fine." He then frowned. "Speaking of which, I don't hear any _maintenance _maintenance crew!" He yelled out looking to the left.

"Forgive us Father!" The Delightfuls rung out as they worked double time to keep the flyer running.

The man only shook his head. "I knew I should've sprung for professionals." He then waved it off as he stood from his seat. "But enough about that. On to why you're here."

Rachel only rolled her eyes. "Some lame brain plot that will fail like always."

"You would think that wouldn't you?" The man chuckled.

The girl took notice of that. He was acting way too calm. "What's your problem Father? Finally figure out you've cracked?"

"Problem? Oh no. There's no problem here. Why I'm just confident with my newest scheme. If everything goes according to plan, then I have nothing to worry about."

"What's your big plan? Turn me into one of the dorks over there?"

"Hm, hm. You're half right."

"Huh?"

"Oh I do plan on transforming you into a well behaved child, just after the process is done."

Rachel felt herself growing weary. "What...process?"

"Why the best process since I created Delighfulization." Father started to reveal. "The process that cripples the KND each passing year, and furthers the count of my armies. Why I'm talking about the wonderful process that is Decommissioning!"

"Decommissioning!" Rachel yelled disgusted. "There is nothing _wonderful_ about decommissioning!"

"To you." The man pointed out. "I can think of a lot of times the process has aided me in my goals. One day I'm fighting some annoying brat who's a complete thorn in my side, then I wake up the next morning to find him ignoring my existence. Why? Because he can't even recall who I am!"

"And that's not all. Every time you youngsters lose an operative, I gain a possible new recruit for my Teen forces. Decommissioning has delivered to me informative traitors such as Cree Lincoln, ex-Supreme Leaders like Chad Dickson, or former loved elites like Maurice Payton."

As he continued to ramble, Rachel couldn't admit that he had some kind of point. When he spoke of it that way, decommissioning seemed like it was giving Father the advantage. She wanted to try and come up with a positive reason for decommissioning, but she couldn't. It was decommissioning. Forgetting your childhood and close friends. But still, "Are you going somewhere with this?" If he would just keep talking, she might be able to slip out of her holdings.

"I'm getting there, pipe down." He said as she crossed his arms. "You see, I'm tired of waiting for you brats to turn thirteen, and even then I have to deal with your adolescent years. With your fancy 'Facebooks' or, 'Who's following me on Twitter', or even worse all that Rock and Roll music. I get migraines just thinking about it. And as you grow older, it gets harder to delightfulize." He then rose a finger into the air. "Then one day I had an epiphany-"

"A what?"

"Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking! I don't barge in on your big speeches do I?" He then calmed down and started again. "Then one day I had a, _sudden realization._ Why should I have to wait for you kids to give each other amnesia when I could do it myself!"

Rachel's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"

"Oh yes I do!"

"Hey! You just interrupted me!"

"QUIET!" The man roared. "If you pop in one more time-"

"Fine you big baby. You were saying?"

"You little..." He then stopped himself. She would get her's soon. "But anyway. I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm going to build my own decommissioning device, and with it, I'll wipe out the memory of every last Kids Next Door agent on the face of the planet! And with no more Recommissioning models, it will be completely PERMANENT!" He laughed at the brilliance of his plan. "And once I decommission everyone, I'll destroy every last remnant of the KND and delightfulize every kid on the globe! Making sure every child is as well behaved and obedient as my Delightful Children and that no kid will ever raise their hands against adults' control, ever, AGAIN!" He finished with an evil crackle. Once he was done, he looked down at 362's face hoping to see her fear. But she just sat there. Bored. "Hey, why aren't you cowering! I worked all night on that presentation!"

"Oh its a good plan." She commented offhandedly. "Its just, that there's this one itsibitsy flaw."

"And what is that Miss Know-it-all?"

Rachel smirked. "No adult has and ever will fully imitate our 2x4 technology. You don't have the right plans and will never be able to build a fully functioning decommissioning chamber." She finished explaining. "So Ha Ha!"

"Gee, it seems you're right." Father slumped as he turned away. "I suppose I'll turn around, drop you off and forget about the whole...Wait a minute!" He exclaimed in fake surprise. "I think I have just the thing for this dilemma!" As he said that, he snapped his fingers and something dropped from the ceiling.

Rachel expression grew more frightened as the figure lowered. It was a large gray mechanism. It had all sorts of wires and tubes flowing back into the roof. The sharp edges seemed to gleam and give off a deadly vibe, looking like they would cut at the slightest prick. But what scared her the most was the long metal tube that stuck out that had a black plunger attached at the end.

She was staring at Father's homemade decommissioning device.

Her gaze was locked on it. It may have been one of the only things all KND members feared on some level. It represented sadness, permanent goodbyes, losing your childhood forever. Never seeing or recalling your friends again. Even when Father started to talk again, she barely paid him any mind.

"You like? My interest in decommissioning goes way back. During my little shtick as your Supreme Leader, I uploaded a little virus in your mainframe for just an occasion like this. It fed me all I needed to know to build this thing. I think I'll call it, the Delightful Decommissioner! Hey! I just noticed they both start with 'DE'. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Rachel barely responded. "W-What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to bake cupcakes and give them to starving- WHAT DO THINK I'M GOING TO DO WITH IT?" He yelled frustrated. He then groaned. "Building this thing was a lot of trouble. Getting the right material, proper science team, and don't even get me started on the paycheck. But even with all that, I'm not sure it works. Which," He then flipped a switch and the machine buzzed to life. "is where _you _come in, my little test subject."

The device crackled with electricity as it inched closer to her face. Rachel didn't retort at all, she was trying her hardest to get as far away from that _thing_ as possible.

"You should feel lucky! I was going to use this on my nephew." He then stepped back, intent on enjoying the show. "Now don't worry, it might hurt. A _lot._ But if everything works out, you won't even remember it."

Seeing that there was no escape, Rachel solemnly sat back and accepted her fate. But it wasn't fair! She wasn't thirteen yet, she still had things she wanted to do as a kid. And she didn't want to forget her friends like Fanny, Patton, her brother Harvey. She didn't want to forget Nigel. But it seemed she had no say in the matter. _'At least Fanny won't have to do this.'_

Father watched on in suspense as he was about to rid the world of the KND Supreme Leader. "If I only had some popcorn. Oh wait," He then pulled out a bucket of movie goer's choice. "I do!" He then started munching o the buttery treats. Now, should he delightfulize her? He liked to have an even number of kids. Or maybe he should hand her over to Cree and let her prepare her as a Teen Ninja. Oh the look on those brat's faces when they realize they were fighting their beloved 362. Then he would do the same thing to them!

The Delightfuls decided to take a break and partake in the end of Numbuh 362. But however, a red blinking light on the radar caused them to get nervous. "Um, Father?"

"Not now children. I'm busy enjoying the agony of a little girl!" He paused for a moment. "That sounded a little _too _evil."

"But Father-" Their reply was interrupted as a something crashed into the Delightful Carrier. From the west wall a cloud of smoke appeared, and out of the smoke came tumbling a burning bed with rocket thrusters on the side. It kept going until it hit the control panel. It short circuited and the would be decommissioner stopped dead.

All three looked on in confusion. Father then gave his children a look and they went to check it out. As they analyzed the wreckage, their eyebrows rose in question. "British bedsheets?" Who owned a bed with British...! "Oh uh- AHHH!" The children screamed as a massive glob of yellowish goo entrapped their bodies. They tumbled around the deck until they hit the east wall, sticking to it. They tried to break free from the substance to no avail. "What... is this?"

From the smoke, a shadow emerged and out came Nigel. He had a smirk on his face as he held his new toy. A giant jar of the yellowish ooze was strapped to his back and from the side of the jar was a hose like mechanism which Nigel held aimed at Father. Ooze dripped from the nozzle as he gripped the knob. "That, was the-"

* * *

/

**Kids Next Door: G.U.N.K.E.R.**

**G**oo. **U**ltimately. **N**ullifies. **K**razy. **E**nemies. **R**adically.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

* * *

"It's a new weapon that combines old sticky caramel with Numbuh 2's 'I Can't Believe It's Not Booger' booger substitute to create a rather messy mix. For you anyway." He told with a grin.

"I can't believe it's not..." The five looked down at what had trapped them, then reared back and let a out an out of sync. "EEEWWWW!"

"At least I remembered you dorks this time." He then readied the hose and pointed at the flaming villain. "Ready for yours, Father?"

The man only fumed in response. "You just had to regain your fighting spirit right when I was at the good part!" He then throw a ball of flame at Nigel.

The boy only smirked as he fired a small squirt of the goo at the flame. As the two attacks met in the air, the fire sizzled out and the goo fell to the floor with a plop and hiss. "Did I forget to mention that it's flame retardant?" He then glared as he wagged his free hand in a come-and-get-me motion. "Lets dance old man."

"I'll show you old!" Father raged as he went on the offensive.

Rachel sat there as she watched the fight before her. He came. He actually came. A smile then graced her face. She should've known better.

"Hey sis!" A shout-whisper to her left caused her to looked down and see-

"Harvey!" She yelped out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The boy only snorted. "You think I was gonna let Uno play hero? As if. He doesn't need anything else to brag about." He then shook the chair as he tried to get her loose. "How do you work this stupid thing!"

"The real thing holding me back are these energy cuffs." She explained as she motioned to her wrists and ankles. "Cut the power and I can get outta here."

The boy nodded. "On it." He then went under the seat and started cutting wires.

Rachel waited for her brother to finish, but the a zap ran through her system. "OW! Watch it!"

"Sorry!"

Back with the family feud, it seemed to be even. The weight of the G.U.N.K.E.R. kept Nigel from moving quickly, but every time Father got close, he had to reel back and dodge in fear of getting stuck.

"Why don't you put down those toys son and fight like a man!" Father roared as fired a wave of flame.

Nigel hopped to the left and aimed. "I'm not a man. I'm a kid!" He proclaimed as he fired. He got lucky for it caught Father's left hand.

"GAH!" The man screamed as the blow caused him to tumble. He rose up his hand to find that he could no longer produce heat from it. "That was my scolding hand you little- AHH!" He yelled again as a clump stuck to his chest, the weight throwing him off balance. "ENOUGH!" He raged as he let out a beam of pure flame.

Nigel's eyes widened as he jumped out of the way. The beam kept traveling until it hit the control panel to the ship. It cricked and crackled and the circuits went wild. The little screen beside the word Decommission switched on. But no one noticed yet.

Nigel walked with an air of confidence as he approached the tiring parental figure. "This was almost _too _easy." He taunted, using the man's words from earlier. He fired off another shot, it hitting the villain right above his foot. "I must say, I'm disappointed in you Father. I expected a little more out of you." He was right at the man. He was panting and hunched over, the goo wearing him down. Nigel shrugged as he aimed the nozzle at Father. "Eh, can't be helped." He grinned as he prepared to end-

_Puuh Puuh_

Both of them looked down surprised to find the hose making a wheezing noise. Nigel then gazed behind him to see the jar empty and the gauge on E. His eyes widened behind his shades. He just had a full tank! His eyes then picked up something he missed. There on the side of the gauge was a little warning notice. "Warning: Beware of Ammo Consumption." He blinked before he glared. "Seriously?"

Father on the other hand laughed. "Ha! What are you going to do now? Your little plan failed didn't-"

_BAP!_

"AHHH!" He screamed as he flew backwards.

Nigel lowered his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. with a smirk. "Always come prepared."

Back with the 360's...

"Will you hurry up!"

"I'm trying the best I can!" Harvey yelled right back as he messed with random wires. "Let's see you do better!"

"I would, but it seems I'm STILL STUCK HERE!" Rachel vented as she blew her hair out of her eyes. "Have you tried everything?"

"Yes."

"_Everything?_"

"_Everything_! Geez!" The boy grumbled. "I have been through every wire down here, but nothing works okay? NOTHING!" He yelled waving his hands in the air.

Rachel looked around trying to find something to get her loose, never noticing the now active decommissioner. Her eyes then stopped on a place on the wall and her eyebrow started twitching. "Did you try _unplugging_ it?" Confused at her words, Harvey looked where his sister was looking and saw a wall plug in that was connected with the chair.

"...Ugh..."

"Just do it!" At her order, the boy scrambled for it and undid it. As the power died down, Rachel fought at her restrains until they snapped off. "I'm free!" She proclaimed as she stood.

"WAAH!" Suddenly Father landed at her side in a sticky heap. He groaned before he looked up at the girl, glaring at her. It was then that they both heard the whir of the decommissioner. It ready for action. The two's eyes meet once more.

Then Father gave off a frighting visible grin.

Using his free hand, he slammed the girl's face into the device. "You're too late boy! AH HA HA HA!" He laughed as the plunger sucked the girl's memory dry.

"RACHEL!" "SIS!" Were the combined screams as they watched in horror as the girl was prematurely decommissioned.

After what seemed like hours, the process finally stopped. At an eerily slow pace, the device drew away from the girl, having done it's job. Once it was gone, Rachel held a hand to her face and groaned. She then pulled it away and looked around the room, the three others waiting on baited breath to see the outcome.

"...Where am I?" The blonde spoke confused. She then looked at the children on the wall. "And why are those guys hanging there?"

"Thank you for noticing." They grumbled out. At least someone remembered they were here.

Nigel and Harvey looked on heartbroken. The small boy was close to tears and Nigel stepped forward, not wanting to believe it. "R-Rachel?"

She only raised an eyebrow. "Uh, do I know you?" The boy felt his heart break in two.

"Sorry boys." Father chuckled out from the floor. "This is life, and the good guys don't always win." He then looked up to Rachel with an innocent look. "Excuse me, Rachel?"

"Huh?" She turned and looked at the man the same way she addressed Nigel and Harvey. "Who are you?"

"It's your father sweetie." He spoke out. Six delightful children sounded so much more... delightful. "You bumped your cute little head on that nasty thing right there." He said regrading the decommissioner. He wanted to kiss that beautiful machine. "Now could you be a dear and help your dear ol' dad up?"

"Okay... dad." She then moved to help the dastardly villain up.

Father had his eyes trained on the two other kids, enjoying the looks on their faces as Numbuh 362 helped him to his feet. _'I'll get the little brat next. Yes, same fate as his sister. Nigel can suffer a little longer. Oh! I know! I'll decommission his entire sector with him watching! Man, I feel so sinister today!'_ He thought joyfully-

_BAP!_

"OWW!" He yelled as he was kicked in the shin...again. He glared up into Rachel's smirking face...wait a minute. "What the-"

"SIKE!" She yelled in his face.

"B-But,...HOW?"

"I told you once." She said as she stood straight. "You can't imitate Kids Next Door 2x4." She then turned and walked away from him. But not before she gave him one last kick. "That's for trying to imitate our stuff in the first place. Copy cat!" She then walked off to join the others.

Rachel walked with a smile on her face, but then she was almost tackled to the ground by her brother. "H-Harvey!"

"Don't _EVER _do that again!" He cried as he hugged her tightly. "I mean it! It wasn't funny!"

The girl only smiled as she rubbed his head. "Sorry. I won't."

"That was some really impressive acting there." Nigel commented as walked up and patted her shoulder with her free hand. "A little sloppy, but hey, you haven't been out in the field for a while."

The girl rose an eyebrow. "What gave it away?"

"Oh,..uh, ya know...body language." He mumbled out, really glad she couldn't see his eyes. She really scared him. He couched into the hand that wasn't holding the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. "Just don't... do it so often."

Rachel secretly smiled but didn't say anything. "I'll keep that in mind Numbuh 1." She then turned and they all walked to the hole in the wall where Nigel and Harvey entered. "Sooo...how do we get down?"

Nigel scratched his head as he looked over to the remains of his rocket bed. He dreading explaining _that _one to mom. "Well..."

"I'm afraid you three aren't going down period!" They all turned to see Father standing upright. The fire around him so hot that it burned through the goo, and started making a hole in the floor. "This plan is too perfect to throw away. So you little brats are going to turn around and sit down so we can go through some trail and error and see what exactly went wrong."

The three glared at him, Nigel raising his weapon slightly. "I don't think so."

The man growled as he rose up and hand preparing a large fireball. "Nigel Uno! I'm through playing games with you boy! You have five seconds to get your hind in this CHAIR!" He yelled furious. "Five!"

The Delightful Children seemed to shake with fear. They had never seen Father _this_ angry.

"Four!"

Rachel smirked as her eyes met Nigel's through his shades.

"Three!"

Harvey rolled his eyes as he slipped something into the bald boy's hand.

Father was getting down to his final nerve. The flames increased as his eyes glowed brightly. "...TWO!"

"One." Nigel smoothly replied. He then tossed his hand into the air, the M.A.R.B.L.E. Harvey gave him flying. The two siblings latched on to Nigel as he jumped back out of the hole. He then held up his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R, and as the M.A.R.B.L.E fell, he hit with all of his weapon's force, sending right towards the mad dad. The three then fell victim to gravity, barreling to the ground below.

Father watched as the small ball zipped right to his face, the little cat eye in the middle blinking rapidly. He slumped, his fire dying out. It was almost to his face. "He is _soo_ out of my will."

* * *

Nigel hovered above the ground. A few inches before he landed, his boots finally gave into the weight and they all fell down with a tumble. With Nigel on the bottom, Rachel in the middle and Harvey groaning on the top.

"I am _never_ doing that again." The Sector W muttered out. Suddenly the sky was filled with a mustard mushroom cloud as the M.A.R.B.L.E detonated and did its work. "Coool." He spoke with awe as it rained honey mustard. "That is so awesome when its not blowing up my house."

"Yeah, swell." Nigel grumbled as he opened his eyes, right about the same time Rachel did. His shades were crooked and she could see his coal blue pupils. After realizing they were staring, they blushed and turned away.

"You two can get up now." They both looked to see Harvey standing there tapping his foot. They both blushed once more as they got up and put some distance between each other. Harvey rolled his eyes, a new hobby for him as of late.

Rachel's cheeks finally returned to their normal color and she addressed the two operatives properly. "Numbuhs 1 and 363. Not only have you defeated Father, stopped his newest plot, but you have also saved my butt. You have your Supreme Leader's thanks." She spoke formally.

Nigel stood at attention and saluted. "You're welcome m'am."

Harvey was curious. "What's with all the formal crud?"

"Rules say I have to." She then rushed forward and pulled them both into a group hug. "But really guys. Thank you." She said softly.

Harvey only smirked as his chest puffed out. "I only did what a Sector Leader would do."

Nigel would have normally scoffed and remarked at that, but he was too caught up in the fact Rachel was hugging him. His hand slowly reached up and patted her on the shoulder. "It...was nothing Rachel. You would've have done the same for one of us."

The girl nodded as she pulled back. They were still close to each other. Nigel folded his hands behind his back and Rachel looked down a bit sadly.

Harvey could barely take it anymore. "You've gotta be kidding...after what we..AGRRH. Would you two get over with it!"

They both looked at him shocked. "Harvey!"

"NIGEL!" The voice caused then to turn to see Agatha Uno standing outside of the house. She was looking at her son, and she did not look happy. "And just _where _have you been?"

Th boy sweated. "I-I was-"

"You were in that treehouse. Weren't you?" Lying wouldn't help him here, so he just quickly nodded. "After I specifically forbade you from doing so?" He nodded once more and her look hardened. "And I believe I also told you what would happen if you do?" He didn't nod this time, he just slumped. He was going to get banned from the treehouse. And when he could go into it again he wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Being decommissioned and all.

"Wait Mrs Uno!" Rachel interrupted. "It's not Nigel's fault! It's mine." She ignored Nigel's protests and did what she should have done earlier. "I'm the reason he went into the treehouse and I'm the reason he got detention. I gave him that note in Mr Jackson's class. He didn't ask for it."

Agatha's eyes widened as she looked to her son again. "Is this true Nigel?" He didn't nod, but he blushed and she got her answer. A smile suddenly broke out on her face. "Oh you defended your little girlfriend! How adorable! I'm so glad you've gotten over that other girl eh...what was her name? Lippy?" She then waved it off. "Oh dear listen to me, bringing up your ex. I know how it is these days!"

Nigel just stared at the woman like she was insane. "...Mom?"

"Don't worry dear, you're not banned from the treehouse." She then wagged her finger sternly. "But you're still grounded. You may want to be her hero but _not _in school young man."

The boy decided it would be best not to argue this time. "Sure mom, whatever you say."

"Oh good!" She then disappeared back into the house to finish dinner.

Nigel finally managed to muster up the courage to look at Rachel. She looked back, giving off a awkward smile, embarrassed as well. But he could still see a little sadness behind that look. She was still upset about what happened in his room.

"Ahem." They both looked at Harvey who was standing there grinning smugly. "Well Uno, ya got something to say to your _girlfriend?_"

He really wanted to go off on the boy, but remembering what happened last time, he backed off. But he really did wish he would get it for messing with them.

"Oh Harvey! There you are old bean." The voice of Monty called out. He walked over to the boy with a smile. "I was upstairs looking for the Monopoly game when I remembered something." His smile got brighter. "I never did get to finish playing for you!"

"W-What!"

"You went to the bathroom and never came back." He then grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him into the house. "Come on, I know this little trick to make it sound even louder. Oh you'll just love it!"

Harvey paled and fought with all his might to break free. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As Monty pulled the screaming boy into the house, he looked back at Nigel and Rachel with a smile. "Remember what we talked about son." He then winked and disappeared inside.

The two of them just stood there in the late of night. An awkward silence stretching between them. Nigel knew he had to say something. Now was his chance to make things right. However he took too long and Rachel beat him to the punch.

"Your dad is weird." She stated in a pleasant tone. As much as he knew he shouldn't he took the bait anyway.

"Tell me something I don't know." He said lightheartedly. He adjusted his shades and cleared his throat. "Speaking of which...what happened up there with Father? We only came in and saw the decommissioning device." He then frowned as his tone became serious. "And I'm very worried that he even _has_ one."

"You should be." Rachel started. "He's more aware then he lets on. He knows about decommissioning. Whether he found out on his own or a traitor told him, but how ever he knows, he just knows. He wanted to make a giant machine and use it to decommission every operative on the planet." She then shuddered a bit. "I was supposed the first one."

"Hey, its fine now." Nigel tried to comfort. "I mean it's like you said, no adult can copy our technology. Besides, the device is gone and even so it didn't work remember?"

"That's just it." The girl spoke solemnly. "It _did_ work."

"WHAT!" He blurted out shocked. "B-B-But how are you-"

"It did work, but the effects wore off very quickly. When I first came to, I had no idea where I was. I just knew my name, a few other things and that's it. It all came back to me while I helped up Father, then I just played it off like it didn't work."

Nigel frowned. "This is serious. If an adult came that close, then we need to reconfigure the decommissioning process." After he said that, Rachel's foot shifted back and forth. She was nervous about something he said. "What is it?"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Rachel."

"Don't 'Rachel' me, I'm still your Supreme Leader ya know!" When he rose an eyebrow, she sighed. She got stoic serious quickly. "What I am about to tell you cannot, under any means, be shared with anyone. Not your sector, family, or even your dying hamster."

"Understood."

"I mean it Numbuh 1. Zip Yer Lip." After she said that, he knew it must've been important. The Zip Yer Lip code was a secret KND pact where vital information concerning the whole organization was shared. If you accepted the code and broke it, you were labeled, TATTLETALE, and decommissioned.

It was that serious.

He nodded his had. "My lips are sealed."

"I hope so." She then sighed. "Nigel, we can't reconfigure the decommissioning chambers' process." She began slowly. "We can't because... we don't know how."

"...Explain."

"Decommissioning has been around as long as the KND has. When an operative reaches the age of thirteen she/he is removed from active KND records and measures are taken to make sure they don't reveal secrets. That has never changed."

Nigel frowned. "You said 'measures'. Not mind wiping."

"That's because the way we decommission in the 7th Age, wiping someone's memory clean, is brand new technology. We're the first Age to do it."

"How is that possible?"

"Records state that other ages did all sorts of tricks to make sure ex-operatives didn't go rouge. Even some primitive ways like banging a rock against your skull to make you forget some things."

"That's...something alright." His eyes then opened a bit more. "Wait, you said that we don't know how to reconfigure the chambers. Does that mean we really have no idea how they work?"

"Haven't you ever wondered why we never build any new chambers when it could make things easier?" Rachel pointed out. "We only know how to manage them and keep them repaired. We were lucky any didn't get severely damaged when the old moonbase was rammed into Grandfather."

"This is all crazy!" He finally yelled out. "You mean to tell me, we're the first ones to use this technology and we don't even know how it bloody works?"

"Basically. Whoever created the process, the operative's records and data are gone." She frowned once more. "Which is why we don't need to tell anyone else this."

"I know." If he reacted that strongly to it, then he didn't even want to know what would happen if the information went public. "So what now? If an adult was that close to copying something we don't even understand..."

"You know how Father is. Once he realizes a plan won't work, he'll go munch on Rocky Road and make up a new one." She the looked up to the moon. "I'm going to have to get the science nerds to find and trash that virus he has up there."

Nigel sighed at all the new information. What a day. "What a night."

"Yeah, I've had enough of it too." Rachel spoke as she smiled. "Come on, lets go see what Harvey is up to."

As he watched her walk into the house, he remembered what he wanted to do, but then brushed it off. "Yeah." He agreed. But the he frowned again. No. No more hiding, no more waiting. He settled this now. "No."

"What?"

"Rachel, there's something I need to say." He breathed out steadily. He had started, no backing out now. "About what I said earlier...in my room. I'm-"

"Its okay Nigel." She stopped him from going on. "I know Harvey can be annoying and you may not have said what you exactly meant."

"Yes, but I'm still sorry about all that." He then stepped a little closer. "And you're right...I didn't say what I meant. In fact, everything that blurted out of my trap that moment was a lie." He then lowered his gaze. "It...was the exact opposite really."

Her eyes widened. Did that mean... She frowned then, pushing those feelings down. Her hand reached to try and stop him from finishing what she might not want to hear. "Nigel-"

"No Rachel please." He stopped her before she could halt it, this. "After all that's happened tonight, what's happened today, these last few months. I...I need to say this now. 'Cause if I don't, I might never say it and I'll regret that even more."

The girl stood there, debating whether or not she wanted to hear what he had to say so badly. But a part of her told her she needed to hear it. "I'm...I'm listening."

"Okay." He then clenched his fists. "Rachel I..." He paused. "I..." Why was this so hard? He decided to go about this another way. He turned around, back facing her, and folded his arms. He looked up towards the moon and sucked in air. "You know that girl I talked about earlier. The one that's been having me think lately?" He waited for her to say something.

"Yes."

"Well... you said I may like this girl. And I think...I think you're right." Even thought he didn't say it directly, he still felt he let his entire heart out. Man, he felt so sweaty right now. "I like this girl. She's..amazing and she's there for me. When I can't go to my team, my family, I go to her. I go to her even when I have almost every other option. I think she's pretty...a-and smart and all that mushy stuff I'm not good at describing." He stated. "And she knows that. She knows that and accepts it. Accepts me." He stopped for a moment. He said a lot more then what he planned on saying, but then again, he only planned this a moment ago. "I care for her greatly. I don't want to say I love her because I'm only a kid and I'm afraid I don't know what love is and I want to give her something real. But... it feels like it to me." He then slapped his forehead and mumbled to himself. "Zero, I sound like one of those Rainbow Monkey Love Novels."

Rachel stood there listening to it all. Her heart was pounding and a part of her already jumped to conclusions about what he was saying. But she could act on it yet. She needed to hear it. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Rachel, the girl I'm talking about..." He felt himself losing his nerve, but he was going to say it! "ThegirlImtalkingaboutisyou!" He babbled so quickly that even he himself couldn't understand it. He then took a deep breath and tried again. "The girl I'm talking about is..."

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see Rachel. She was smiling at him with a glowing smile. "I...heard you the first time." She admitted with a blush.

"...How?"

"I'm the Supreme Leader who has to listen to a gazillion kids talking all at once while hyped up on sugar and caffeine." She elaborated with a smile. "Compared to them you were speaking in slow-mo."

The boy smile back, although his face was beet red. "Y-Yeah." He then scratched his head. "Listen Rachel, i-if you just wanna be friends or something I-I'm totally cool with-"

"I like you too Nigel." She told him her face almost as red as his.

"...Never thought you would just say it, randomly like that."

"Well, it was the only way to make sure you would stop thinking otherwise." She said with a grin. "But it's true. I do like you. I have for a while. You're a great person, fun to be around and completely loyal and dedicated to everyone you care about." She looked away for a moment. "Even when I say I can't do my own job right, you're right there telling me I'm doing okay and doing it better than everyone else."

"Only because its true."

"And that's another reason, you like to motivate." She joked.

"Yeah." He laughed as well. He then found everything calming down, but his feelings for the girl was still there. He felt weightless and free of all of his troubles. He should've have done this a long time ago. That fact caused him to frown forlornly. "I'm sorry Rachel."

"For what?"

"For everything. This mess I made." He admitted. "For months I've felt this way, but I continued to ignore it or tell myself otherwise. Its cost me missions, my work, and it almost cost me your friendship. Heck, it almost cost me you period." He thought thinking about what just happened with Father.

"It's alright Nigel. We're here now aren't we?"

"But we could have been _here_ a lot sooner if I hadn't convinced myself I was confused." He said once more. "It happened sometime after Lizzie. I didn't want to think I liked you just so I could have another girlfriend. I didn't want you to be...the rebound." He uttered, gagging on that last word.

Rachel smiled at him as she stepped closer to him. "That's sweet."

"It'd better be. I had to use a _teenager_ term to describe it."

"Don't ruin it."

"Sorry." It was then they realized how close their faces were. They both blushed, but didn't back away. In fact, they started to move closer-

"Nigel!" His mother called from the inside they snapped out of the daze and leaned away from each other. "Dinner is ready! Bring your girlfriend inside, it's getting chilly out there!"

"Coming mom!" He yelled back.

Rachel rose and eyebrow playfully. "Girlfriend. Everyone seems to think that around here."

"I wouldn't mind." Nigel's statement caused her eyes to widen. "For you to be my girlfriend." He then got nervous again. "B-But if you don't want to it's totally fine! I m-mean I don't w-want to rush you or any-"

"Numbuh 1, I order you to stop talking."

"Y-Yes m'am." He proclaimed as he snapped to attention. But then he just about lost his posture when he felt a pair of lips quickly peck his own. "I..I..uh.."

"I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend." She smirked playfully. "Nope, not at all." She then got playfully serious again. "But don't for a second think that because your dating the Supreme Leader you are entitled to privileges." She smirked again. "In fact, now I have to be extra careful when dealing with your Sector, Numbuh 1."

Nigel got serious as he readjusted his shades. "Oh you don't have to worry about me Supreme Leader m'am. You know how I operate." He then gave a playful look of his own. "It's you who I'm concerned about."

"We'll see about that."

"Nigel old bean, are you coming?" Monty called out this time. "Your mother whipped up some Shepard's pie."

"Coming dad!" He then turned to Rachel, or rather his new girlfriend and held out his hand. "I hope you don't mind."

She only smiled as she gripped his palm. "I would like to think I'm not all that high maintenance." She then kissed his cheek, causing him to blush, but he took in stride as he walked hand and hand with Rachel inside his home. As he did this, he went over all that had occurred. Even with all the bad he had to admit that this outcome was worth it.

Maybe it wasn't _that_ bad of a day after all.

* * *

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**End Transmission.**

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**And so Operation R.E.B.O.U.N.D. comes to a close. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as I typing it. It was fun, especially coming up with my G.U.N.K.E.R. weapon. If someone else before has done the same then I didn't know about it. I'm not new to the KND, just KND fanfiction. My only hope is that I didn't overdo it with the romance segments. Its nearly futile to keep them almost perfectly In Character, but I like to think I try.  
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**I've said enough, Numbuh Phenon signing out.**

**Reviews are nice by the way.  
**


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**Incoming Transmission**

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The doors of the Delightful Mansion were kicked opened and six mopey figures walked into the abode, covered head to toe in crusty yellow mustard.

The Delightful Children followed Father into the house. They were weighed down with the sense of failure, and tense and wary of the man's anger. He wasn't known to be a good loser. Especially to those KNDorks. The villain rose up his arm and they fidgeted.

"Go wash yourselves off in the shower." Father ordered boringly as he pointed down the hall. The five let out a breath of relief and hurried down the corridor. The man's eyes narrowed as he watched them go. "And don't forget to scrub behind those ears. They better be squeaky clean when you get out. OR ELSE!" He couldn't help but chuckle a bit when they increased their speed. But his mood dropped again and he slumped slightly once they were out of sight. He then took steps forwards toward his chamber.

He trudged to his lounge chair. Once he heard something squish under him, he looked down to see his mustard covered feet were staining his expensive carpet. He waved it off. "Who gives a doodie." He mumbled as he finished his trek. He slouched in his chair as he stared into the flames of the fire pit.

Father let out a long groan as he recapped the night's events. It all sucked. His stupid nephew and that poo-poo headed Supreme Leader had foiled his perfect plot, the Delightful Carrier was in ruins, a zillion of his hard earned dollars down the drain, his shin was killing him, and worst of all his evil suit needed dry cleaning. Something else he would have to pay for.

The man drew a puff on his pipe, only to cough it out of his mouth along with some more mustard. Apparently some got in it. As it fell to the floor, he glared and stomped on it. "I hate honey mustard." He muttered. He sank further in his seat and sighed. "I could go for some Rocky Road." Where was that butler he was paying by the hour?

Suddenly the temperature in the room dropped. He shivered at the change and watched as an icy cold wind blew in and put out the fire. He rolled his eyes. Great. _She_ was here.

"What's the matter Benedict?" A cold female voiced mocked from the shadows. "That doesn't look like the face of a man who has put children in their place."

He didn't bother to seek her out. "What do _you_ want? Come to rub it in my face?"

"Oh? It didn't work?" She asked sarcastically. "Just like I warned you."

"Oh shut up." Father muttered. He didn't need this. "Just say what you have to and leave me alone."

"You know why I'm here Father." The voice spoke again. "I gave you a chance, and you failed. You need me. My services are still available."

He knew what she wanted alright. But he was still wary. "Why should I care? What could you have to offer me?"

"It's very simple." She began. "You have the resources, and I have the information you need to utilize them to the fullest." The voice then chuckled. "We both have the same desire. We both want the Kids Next Door vanquished."

"And you still haven't told me why that is."

"Because I'm tired of all this nonsense." She growled. "For decades my sisterhood has just idly stood by. We supported and guided our children, making sure no harm came to them. We left the duty of keeping them in line, keeping them safe up to your kind." The shadow shook her head. "But Fatherhood has been weakened and humiliated. All by these KND. They are a complete danger to children everywhere! Letting children roam freely with harmful technology, they're even fooling around in space! They are a danger to themselves and I won't stand by any longer."

Father rose a brow slowly. "You want to get rid of the Kids Next Door to keep them safe?"

"And what better way to be safe then being _delightfully_ obedient children?" She grinned. "This plan of yours is a wonderful idea. With every operative decommissioned, the KND will never put a child in harm's way ever again."

"It doesn't work." The man announced as he slumped more. "The stupid device wouldn't operate properly, and I don't know how it works."

"And neither do those children."

"What?"

"Allow me to share a little history." She started to explain. "The 7th Age of the KND was a start of new things. Girls were allowed, the moonbase was built, and many new things were invented." Her cold eyes glinted. "Like the new process of decommissioning."

"Huh?"

"Numbuh Zero. Your brother defeated Grandfather by erasing his memory, making the man forget he was the evil ruler of the world and how to use his powers. This mind wipe weapon was the first ever decommissioning device of the 7th Age. It laid the foundation for the decommissioning chambers on the moonbase."

The man glared in his chair. "So Monty created the mind wipe process." Like his oh so cool brother needed anything else to add to his list of feats, the big showoff.

"No. Numbuh Zero created the device to counteract the effects of decommissioning. The operative who created the opposite process was lost to record." Suddenly, she threw a folder towards the villain.

Father caught the folder and looked at. He then frowned. "A KND Operative File?"

"One of the first operative files of this age that I acquired sometime ago."

The man opened the old pages and read through it. Some pages were missing, and he couldn't make out some important parts, like the brat's name. But he did see his codenumbuh. "Who the heck is Numbuh X?"

"Numbuh X was the unknown variable in Grandfather's downfall. Unknown to the KND themselves." She smirked evilly. "Numbuh X is the creator of 7th Age decommissioning."

Father's eyes widened before they filled with devious intent. If he could find this Numbuh X's secrets, then he could find out how to create the ultimate decommissioning device. It was all too perfect.

"I can help you find more of this Numbuh X." The voice started again, causing him to gaze into the shadows. "That is, if you let me."

The man shrugged, more interested in the file. "Yeah sure, whatever." As long as it got rid of the Kids Next Door he couldn't care less. He then turned his looked to the shrouded figure. "What do I call you, Miss...?"

"Please," She then stepped out of the darkness the reveal her form. The woman had almost pale white skin with sliver white hair that was straight down to her back. She was dressed in a strict dark blue business like outfit with high heels and a small purse tucked into her arm. Her cold blue eyes regarded Father and she smirked as an icy mist surrounded her body. "Call me, Mother."

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